Shadows of Almia: Distant Hearts
by clumsyProphet
Summary: Kate really didn't like the role of hero. She thought that heroes were supposed to be bold, all-loving, friendly, not…not like she was. Grumpy, insecure, quick to anger sometimes and cold in the remaining time…But really, had she some kind of choice in the matter? No, no she hadn't. Her only solace was that she wasn't facing it alone.
1. Arrivals

Pueltown was bustling with life, in that late summer morning. The pig-tailed girl smiled, before testing her backpack's weight with a quick tug and finally exiting from the boat she had spent the last hours into. Flocks of Wingulls shrieked in the quaint harbour, gracefully landing on the crate of goods in the commercial section of the port and harassing local fishermen…sight that made her smirk, before shaking her head and going towards the centre of the city. The journey from Fiore had been pretty calm, everything considered, but right now she had to make the last stretch of her journey. She sighed, sitting on a bench next to a bus stop sign, impatiently waiting for the vehicle that was going to bring her to her destination.  
Ranger School…a dream coming true, after two years of online courses and a lucky scholarship she had earned the last spring. Sure, she had trained hard in those years, but to be finally able to practice in first person, with other young aspirants ready to enter the Union…  
She gulped, the thought of entering as a foreign student in a school where everyone else already knew each other making her more than a little nervous…she wasn't the most outgoing gal out there, if she had to be honest. No, if she _really_ had to be honest "Pokémon, her parents, her sister and a few other people" were the only people she tended to interact with, and, just to reiterate the point, some of her neighbours had started referring to her with the charming nickname of _Grumpy_. Not very flattening, but she couldn't say they hadn't a point.  
The noise of the bus, finally arriving, made her snap out of her thoughts: she would have time to think about her problems later, she supposed.

* * *

The road that linked Pueltown with Vientown first, and the Academy later, was a tiny road slivering between endless, wild fields before touching the outer rim of Vien Forest. The sight wasn't really surprising: Almia (and Fiore…and well, all the Union regions, if she had to be honest) were pretty backwater, even compared to other minor regions like Hoenn or Sinnoh, so, outside of the (moderately) big cities nature was left undisturbed, carefully guarded by area Rangers. Tourism was scarce, maybe a little more prevalent in Oblivia after the natural disaster that had hit Hoenn a few years earlier, and industry was still developing, except the valiant (if a little bit doomed from the start) effort of a lone local company to usurp Sinnoh as the leader in the clean energy market. So…backwater, yeah. Not that she complained about it: she would have felt terribly out of place in a place like Kanto…or Unova, even worse.  
"Next stop: Ranger School. End of the line."  
Finally. She quickly grabbed her backpack before going towards the door of the bus, that opened just in front of a metal, imponent gate. She inspired, closing her eyes for a moment: yes, she was ready. She smiled, moving the last steps towards her new life.

* * *

Pouring her feelings into the styler, while carefully manoeuvring the disk around the Pikachu, was definitely easier than she had expected. Well, okay, it _was_ difficult, but…as long as she stopped worrying about the tiny details and just let her instincts and feelings take over she felt she could make it. The more the little disk spun, leaving behind a track of light, the more she felt confident: she could do it. She knew that.  
 _Capture complete.  
_ The young girl smiled, guiding the capture disk towards her hand after its purpose had been fulfilled. The bright yellow rodent in front of her looked in her direction for a few seconds, an happy expression clearly present in its muzzle, before running towards the instructor wearing a baseball cap.  
"Ehehe…you passed the test. I welcome you in our secret army, the inscrutable Team School…Together, we shall conquer the entire world!"  
Before the girl could open her mouth a woman, long red hair and strict but classy clothes, entered the room they were into, a clearly irritated expression on her face.  
"Mr. Kaplan! Again with this nonsense?! You'll end scaring the students!"  
The man simply laughed, raising his hands in the air.  
"Come on, Ms. April! It was just a joke."  
The woman sighed, putting her left hand on her hip.  
"It stopped being fun fifteen times ago, Mr. Kaplan."  
The instructor shrugged, before turning again towards the young girl.  
"Well, congratulation for your successful capture! I officially welcome you as a student of the Ranger school. Your prize is keeping the Styler I gave you…you are free to practice with it, even outside my capture lessons."  
Oh. Now everything started make sense again. The girl smiled briefly, thankful to not being recruited for who know what nefarious purpose, before turning her head towards the woman.  
"Congratulations, indeed! I am Ms. April, and I will be your teacher outside of the practical sessions of Capture and Athletics, held by our Mr. Kaplan here…" at which she inclined her head towards the man, now holding the Pikachu in his arms "…and Target clearing and Wilderness survival, held by Mrs. Claire. Please, follow me to our class."  
She started following Ms. April without further ado, exiting from the building the staff had herded her into after arriving (that she supposed was dedicated to the Capture lessons) and crossing the large courtyard of the school.  
"How was the journey from Fiore, miss Lawson?"  
The girl winced, surprised by that sudden question, before answering in a tiny voice.  
"Oh, fine, thank you, Miss."  
Damn…she wasn't really good at small talk, uh? Scratch that, she wasn't good with talk in general. Ms. April, however, simply smiled, not bothered by that last phrase.  
"Nervous, mh? Don't worry, I'm sure you will feel like home in no time."  
She…wasn't so sure, but she appreciated the effort. They entered together the main building, turning immediately to the left in a secondary corridor.  
"Here we are. Feel ready?"  
The girl inspired, before nodding. She was going to be a Ranger, she shouldn't have been scared of twenty or so students her age…and yet, she was. Everything, from facing forest fires to earthquakes, would have been better than that.  
"Good. Let's go."  
With a last smile she opened the door, walking into the classroom with confident strides…and being followed with much less bold ones, as the girl started feeling all the eyes on her. Ms. April stopped in front of her desk, the excited murmurs of the class stopping immediately as she started talking again.  
"Good morning, everyone. As you can see, the transfer student I mentioned a few days ago has arrived! Please, give a warm welcome to miss Kate Lawson."  
Kate smiled, trying to appear relaxed (and probably failing spectacularly). Great. Ms. April was about to start speaking again when she stopped, glaring at a red-haired boy in the last row of desks, currently busy hiding the fact that he was soundly asleep. Kate couldn't help but smiling a little…Ms. April sure had a sharp eyesight, didn't she? That, and probably many years of experience in similar situations.  
"And yes, mister Carter, that includes you. Lessons haven't even started yet, and you're already napping?!"  
The only answer was a slightly bored "Yes, Ms. April…", which the teacher promptly chose to ignore in favour of addressing the whole class again.  
"Since the official lessons will start only tomorrow I suppose leaving the morning free would be ideal. Please, class, show miss Lawson around. I will be in the staffroom if you need me."  
Oh no. Nonononono…Kate could only watch as Ms. April exited the class, and she almost wished the ground would open and swallow her whole as the entire classroom surrounded her, a storm of questions coming from all around her.  
"Guys! **GUYS!** Let her breathe, for crying out loud!"  
A blonde, curly girl fended the crowd away from Kate, instantly gaining the latter's eternal gratitude.  
"Now, I know you're curious, but she's going to have a heart attack if you start pressuring her like this in the first minutes of her stay!"  
She smiled, turning her head towards the pig-tailed girl.  
"I'm Rhythmi, nice to meet you! You can call me Rhyth, if you like."  
She was like a…an angel. Perhaps she had been worrying too much, if all the other students were like…  
"Hey, new kid! I forgot your name, but how long did it take to capture that Pikachu? An hour or more?"  
Rhythmi's face immediately lost its reassuring smile as she grabbed the nearest object, namely a blue pencil case on a desk behind her, and performed a masterful headshot to the red haired guy that had just talked. Hey, it was the same that had been asleep, before. The outraged 'Ow!' that followed almost immediately the hit erased the wave of anger that Kate had felt raising in her chest after that condescending comment, replaced instead by a quite substantial need to laugh. Students around her weren't as restrained as she was, however, as they started snickering and chuckling at the sight of the student massaging his forehead.  
"Don't mind Keith, he's not worth the effort when he's acting like this."  
"Hey!"  
Rhyth shook her head and then kept ignoring him, continuing as if nothing had just happened.  
"How about I take you to explore the school a little? We can resume the presentation and the unavoidable question-and-answer session later, mh?"  
She really was an angel, there was no other explanation. An angel with a wicked aim and an uncanny ability to understand what she was feeling…really, she couldn't ask for more. Kate nodded, a smile returning on her face.  
"Good! Let's go!"  
Rhythmi escorted her out of the room, closing the door behind her.  
"You came from Fiore, right?"  
Kate nodded, as they started to walk.  
"Yes, from Ringtown."  
The blonde girl nodded back before continuing.  
"There's a lot of people from Fiore in the other class of our year…Our class is mostly made of Almians."  
"Are you from Almia, too?"  
Rhyth shook her head, a tiny smile forming on her lips.  
"Well…no. I'm quite an oddity, to be honest…normally, girls from Johto wish to become Trainers, or maybe Coordinators. But that wasn't the career I wanted to join. I guess having an Oblivian mother helped." she said, ending the phrase with a little shrug.  
"I heard that outside of the Union territory people barely acknowledge the Rangers."  
The blonde girl groaned, scratching her nape with her left hand.  
"Damn straight. 'Rangers' there are just trainers that particularly like nature…I remember being misunderstood all the time. Let me tell you, that's frustrating."  
She stopped speaking, signalling Kate to turn to the right into another corridor with an hand, before continuing.  
"So…are you here to become a Ranger?"  
Kate nodded, her eyes wandering on her surroundings.  
"Yes…I think I would really be a failure as an Operator, and I simply like Pokémon more than machines…though I'm not bad with them, I have to admit. What about you, Rhythmi?"  
"Operator, no doubts about that! I can't wait to order Keith around, and to have him actually _do_ what he's been told for once!"  
Oh, she should have guessed, to be honest, Rhythmi would have been perfect as an Operator. A guide, leading and coordinating Rangers no matter how dire the situation. Wait, so that meant that…  
"Somehow I'm not surprised he wants to be a Ranger."  
Rhyth chuckled, before her expression turned more serious.  
"Maybe I'm being a little too mean towards him, though. He's not _bad_ , he just likes to open his mouth before thinking first. He's a good friend, once you know how to deal with him. Give him a possibility, will ya?"  
Kate sighed, before shrugging. She had to admit, her first impression hadn't been very positive, but if she was so sure about it…  
"I kinda wanted to strangle him after that comment, but I suppose you're right."  
Rhythmi clearly wanted to add something else, but she shook her head at the last second, offering Kate a sly smile instead.  
"Oh no, by all means, next time I'm not there to hit him do that for me if he deserves it."  
She stopped in front of a door, quickly pointing it to Kate.  
"Oh, look, that's the other classroom for the students of our year. Do you want to enter for a quick visit?"  
"Oh. Uhm…but if we'd do that wouldn't we disturb the classroom?"  
Rhyth briefly shook her head.  
"Nah. Lessons starts in a day or two, we're here earlier to let the new arrivals like you settle down. So it's kinda expected for people to go around everywhere."  
"Oh. Okay then…let's enter, I guess."

* * *

It took a few hours for Rhythmi to show her around, but Kate felt satisfied by the experience. The School had…interesting people, to say the least. Take the teacher of the other classroom, Mr. Kincaid, for example. She had never seen an hairstyle so…well, indescribable. A single, gigantic curl, heroically resisting on one side of the head against gravity (Rhythmi suggested a quite substantial use of hairspray, but Kate wasn't fully convinced)…woah. Also, for some reason the man was obsessed with his ban of running in the corridors and had a lab in the basement, its access forbidden to students. Okay, maybe he was a _little_ more than unusual, though apparently the lab was part of a deal between the Academy and the local energy firm, Altru Inc. (at least, that's what Rhyth had said). Other than that, however, the visit had been fairly normal: a pretty extensive library (in which she had apparently met the greatest genius of their generation with an atrocious taste in hairstyles, named Isaac), the dorms, the staffroom and so on. After a brief encounter with principal Lamont Splendidocious (who had quickly requested to be simply addressed as principal Lamont), an old but definitely wise old man, Rhyth had guided her towards the courtyard, briefly showing her the facilities around.  
"Well, now that we've begun the specialization year I'm not going to use this room anymore, but you definitely will." she said, pushing once again open the door of the Capture (and Obstacle removal) classroom. Mrs. Claire had been kind enough to offer Kate a practice run, letting her smash a crate or two just to get the basic process straight, and now Rhyth was taking her new classmate to the 'last important place left in the School'. At least, that's what she would have done, if a distressed yell hadn't stopped the two girls just after a few steps.  
"Oh dear! Oh dear! Please, someone help me with the Bidoof!"  
Kate turned her head to look at Rhyth. Her expression was still pretty calm, though you could clearly see a tiny veil of worry beneath.  
"That sounded like Mrs. Janice…let's go!"  
Mrs. Janice, Mrs. Janice…oh, right, the caretaker lady. Kate immediately sprinted, following the sounds of the commotion. Almost in the middle of the courtyard a middle-aged woman was standing, surrounded by a dozen, or maybe less, Bidoof running left and right.  
"Mrs. Janice! Is everything alright?"  
The woman looked in their direction, a mortified expression on her face.  
"Oh, I've accidentally stepped on the pack leader's tail and they all got upset…please, capture them and calm them down! They could get hurt if they start running everywhere!"  
Kate didn't need to hear more. Her hand darted to the increasingly familiar shape of her Capture Styler, extracting it and starting to run towards the nearest Pokémon.  
"I was wondering what the ruckus was! Great, free practice!"  
A red-haired boy run towards the nearest Bidoof, observing it with an amused smile but without doing anything else.  
"Keith! Stop being your lazy self and actually help us!"  
Oh, great. Kate couldn't help a wave of irritation to grow inside her, despite her best efforts to not let herself be bothered by his presence.  
"Hey, how about we spice this up with a challenge! You! New kid! The one who captures more Bidoof wins!"  
Now the irritation had transformed in full, boiling rage. Dammit, was he even capable of not acting like a complete jerk for a few seconds?! Rhyth seemed to think the same, because she stomped the ground in frustration with her left foot before yelling back.  
" _ **KEITH**_! DO YOU THINK THIS…AH, FORGET IT! Kate, just capture them!" she added, in the end, wildly gesturing towards the fleeing animals. Kate didn't really needed to be told twice: she launched herself towards the nearest one, chasing it until she was near enough to initiate the capture attempt.  
"Capture on!" she shouted, expelling the disk and beginning to circle the rodent. Unlike her previous captures, she found concentrating on her positive emotions of friendship towards the Pokémon hard, harder than it had ever been. She just had…to concentrate on them and forgetting her feeling of frustration, she reminded herself. Not an easy thing to do, but after a few loops she had managed to stabilize her feelings enough to capture the Bidoof. Well, next one! She quickly looked around her, before immediately sprinting to her left to reach one of the fugitives before it could get away. She allowed herself to smile: she could do it. She wouldn't give that annoying brat the satisfaction of winning!

* * *

"It seems that our Keith has won, with five captured Bidoof against four. But congratulation to you too, miss! You definitely have potential."  
Keith grinned, before showing off a little by executing his Ranger pose. Damn, he was so proud of it!  
"Woho! I won!"  
Mrs. Janice smiled, before herding away the now calm animals with the promise of one of her special dishes…and only then Keith noticed the dark expression on the new girl's face. Uh-oh…maybe he had gone a little too far by challenging her on her first day there. He quickly exchanged a glance with Rhythmi, whose expression clearly spelled 'Don't be an idiot and do something!'  
"But hey, I must admit you did very well, considering today was the first time you used your Styler! I'm pretty impressed. Your name is Kate, right?"  
The girl's expression softened a little, as Rhyth started to laugh, delighted.  
"Oh, you! You knew her name from the beginning, didn't you? Geez, I've told you I don't know how many times to not act this way! Kate was two seconds away from punching you before!"  
…Wait, what? Rhyth was pretty good at reading people, but her last phrase had been a joke, right? Right…?  
"Anyway, we should go! As I told you before, there's one last place we need to visit!"  
Keith smirked, pointing eastwards with his thumb.  
"Ascension square, uh? I'm coming with you!"  
Rhyth snorted, putting her hands on her hips.  
"Geez, Keith! What if I wanted the experience to be girls-only?"  
Keith did the only thing he could: summon his best pair of puppy eyes and hope that this time his friend wasn't serious.  
"Aww, Rhyth, c'mon!"  
Her expression turned in a sly one, as she scratched her chin with one hand.  
"Mmh…I guess I can allow you to come. _But_!" she said, as her expression turned into an even sneakier one "…you can come only if Kate is alright with it."  
 _Rhyth, I love you to pieces, but sometimes you're terrible._  
Kate looked at him for a few seconds, an hard expression that made him honestly sweat bullets, before shrugging, her expression softening (but not by much).  
"Yes, it's fine. Let's go."  
Keith, finally breathing again, obediently started to follow the girls across the courtyard, before descending the stairs that linked the School proper to Ascension square. Ascension square…he had to admit, even after years of attending the Academy, the marble monument in the middle of it still held quite a big deal of charm. So he wasn't really surprised when he saw the new girl's awestruck expression, her dark blue eyes shimmering. Heh…he supposed he had had the same expression, the first time he had seen it, but that girl…from their earlier interactions, he would have never expected such an open gesture of surprise and happiness.  
"This, Kate, is the Ascension square! We'll have an Outdoor class here in a month or so. It's a really cool moment, and they usually have a true member of the Union joining! Last time it was a mechanic, and another time we had an Operator…though they usually call Rangers, since the others have more trouble leaving their places."  
She stopped, pointing to the monument proudly displaying the Rangers symbol on it.  
"And that's the Pledge Stone. They say that if you make a promise here with your friends, it will certainly become true…or at least, that's what Principal Lamont says, but I believe him! Imagine, all the students since the School opened wishing on it, and the Stone carrying their dream for the future generations to see…isn't that great?!"  
Oh, no, Rhyth was getting carried away again. Keith cleared his throat, gesture that seemed to get the blonde girl's attention.  
"Oh, right. Well, this concludes Rhythmi's Amazing School Tour of Excitement and Wonder!"  
She stopped, smiling and extending an hand towards the pig-tailed girl.  
"I'm glad to have met you! I hope we can be friends for a long time!"  
Keith laughed, putting an hand on Rhyth's shoulder and offering a thumbs up with the other.  
"Oh, come on, don't leave me out! I want to be her friend too!"  
Kate, previously smiling, immediately lost her joyful expression, instead offering him a confused look. _Great, he had really made a bad first impression, hadn't he._ However, the brunette never managed to answer, as the silvery sound of a bell resounded in the air. Rhyth immediately started to run towards the stairs, signalling them to follow.  
"We should really hurry up, if we don't want to lose lunch! Come on, let's go!"  
Kate immediately started springing with surprising speed, quickly followed by the red-haired boy. _Yup, that year was definitely going to be interesting_ , Keith thought with a quick smile.


	2. Courage in adversity

Kate smiled, putting down her pen after signing the long letter she had just finished writing. She wouldn't be writing home every day, of course, but she supposed her first experience at the School was an event worthwhile enough to be documented.  
"Hey, Kate, whatcha doing?"  
The pig-tailed girl raised her head, smiling at Rhythmi, just arrived in front of her.  
"Writing home. My little sister made me promise to report anything special that happens on my stay here, and I hadn't the heart to tell her no."  
Rhyth clapped, her eyes twinkling with joy…or was it something else? Kate could have sworn there was more in that expression, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly that 'more' was.  
"Oooh…you have a younger sister? I'm an only daughter, so I don't really know how it feels."  
She stopped, scratching her head.  
"Damn, I should write home too. My parents always complain I never write back…Oh, well, maybe tomorrow."  
There was a second of silence before the girl spoke again.  
"Say…how about we get out for a while?"  
Oh, right. What she had saw earlier was _sneakiness_. Kate shrugged, before jumping out from her bed and quietly following Rhythmi out of the girl's dormitory. Her eyes took a few instants to adjust in the almost non-existent light of the…living room? Lounge? Mh, she liked lounge. Anyway, once her eyes had adjusted, she managed to discern the two shapes, maybe three, that revealed themselves to be students once her and Rhyth had come closer. Kate recognized Keith, a brown-haired girl from the other class of their year and a boy from their class, though his name eluded her.  
"Sorry for the wait. We're ready!"  
Rhyth had come closer to the group, and had whispered with a tone barely audible.  
"Took you long enough!"  
Yup, 100% Keith, no doubt about it. Rhyth scoffed, before signalling Kate to come closer.  
"So, let's get started with the most sacred ceremony of the School's Acolytes…"  
"I still think it's a stupid name."  
Keith, again.  
"Shush! Nobody asked you." was the hushed reply, obviously coming from Rhythmi. "As I was saying…the most sacred ceremony, the _test of courage_ to welcome Kate!"  
All the other students raised their right fists, whispering some sort of battle cry. Uh…test of courage? What? Kate really didn't like the sound of that…nah, she was just being paranoid. Surely Rhythmi wouldn't put her in danger, it was probably just a test like 'Steal a potted plant from the corridor without getting caught' and not, say, 'walk the walk of fire and death'. Keith, perhaps sensing her discomfort (or maybe she was putting too much faith in his empathic abilities?) quickly inserted himself in the conversation.  
"Don't worry, it's just a test to see if you're brave. I did that before, too…it's not difficult."  
Good, at least the 'pit of despair and hellfire' option had been tossed away. Also, Keith seemed more…supportive? Perhaps she had seriously misjudged him from their previous…  
"But…you know, you do have that easily scared look to you. No offence."  
… _Nevermind, and 'no offence' my ass_.  
Rhyth coughed, effectively breaking that awkward situation.  
"Aehm…Rules are simple. We have hidden our four Stylers in some of the School's rooms, and your test consists in retrieving them! The rooms are our classroom, the other classroom of our year, the library and the staffroom. When you're done, put them in front of the door to the basement room and then return here. It's not difficult or anything, but…"  
Kate could have sworn to have heard a point of amusement in that last 'but'…and her impression was confirmed when the blonde girl spoke again.  
"…it's not really safe to go alone, so we have a special rule: the last one who received the initiation accompanies the new girl! Or boy."  
Silence.  
"That's…"  
"Yes, Keith. That's you. Good luuuck!"  
Kate couldn't really see the others' expression, bus she could sure felt her own. _Oh no._  
"Wait, Rhyth, I think I can do it alo…"  
"Nonsense! A rule is a rule. Now go, the night won't last forever!"  
Great. Kate sighed, before signalling Keith to follow her down the stair of the dormitory floor. Her only hope now was to complete the test as soon as she could, and she fully intended to do so.

* * *

"Soooo…I guess that… **WAAAAAH**! There's… _something there!_ "  
The shriek almost made Kate jump out of her skin…but then she recognized the shape moving in the moonlit corridor.  
"Really, Keith? It's just a Bidoof."  
She quietly scoffed, as Keith started to fumble with his words in a desperate attempt to made her forget the embarrassing scene he had just made.  
"Uhm…I…thought that…"  
…Except that she wasn't going to let him walk away _scot free_ , especially after that 'you look like you are easily scared' comment.  
"Did you say that you _passed_ your courage test, didn't you?"  
Keith raised his hands, clearly trying to find an excuse quickly.  
"Come on! I…just didn't expect it! Let's…just go and find the Stylers, shall we?"  
She supposed she had had her revenge…there was no need to further embarrass him, _for now_. Kate nodded, before pointing to a door on their left.  
"Let's start with the library, then move to the other rooms."  
Keith cleared his throat.  
"Uhm…that's the staffroom. The library is on the other side."  
Oh.  
"Then…the staffroom, I guess."

* * *

"So…you're from Fiore, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"I have a brother in Fiore. He works as a Mechanic in Wintown."  
"Mh."  
"I've also got a sister, but she works here at Altru Inc."  
"Mh."  
"Do you have siblings?"  
"Keith."  
The red-haired boy stopped talking, finally looking in her direction.  
"Uhm…Yes?"  
Kate stopped her run around the table, pointing to the yellow rodent with a Styler in its little hands, currently busy evading her attempts to capture it.  
"I'm trying to catch this Pichu."  
Keith laughed, scratching the nape of his head.  
"Oh…ahaha, I know, right? It's just…"  
 _It's just that you're scared shitless and you are desperately trying to converse so you can get distracted._ Kate sighed, before shaking her head and giving chase again. The little devil was giving her more trouble than she would have expected, and kept getting away once she was near enough to launch the disk. She gritted her teeth, instantly deciding that she had had _enough_ of that chase. Using a nearby chair as a step, she quickly jumped on the Principal's desk, traversing it with a few strides and finally jumping down in the opposite direction, just in front of the Pichu. Before the Pokémon could start running away from her again she launched the Capture disk, which she immediately guided in a loop around the little creature. Kate let her frustration fade away, concentrating instead in the circular movement of the spinning device, and a few seconds later the Styler quietly beeped. _Capture complete._ Uh…she supposed the afternoon training will all those Bidoof had served her well.  
"Good! C'mere, little Pichu." she whispered, walking towards the, now calm, animal. She kneeled down, extending an hand to finally take the Styler from the little creature, then patting it with the other hand once she had it.  
"Good boy! Now go." she said, getting up. The Pichu didn't need to be told twice: it darted away, probably returning to its nest.  
"Good! Three to go."  
She realized that she had almost forgotten about Keith's presence…oh, well, it was a good sign that she was able to concentrate so much on a capture, no?  
"Yes. Let's go to the library now."

* * *

"Brr…this place sure is scary at night. It's like…something is lurking in there."  
Kate resisted, once again, the temptation to scoff, concentrating instead on the obstacle ahead. She didn't really know how Rhythmi and her friends had managed to stuff the room with crates even taller than she was (well, she was quite short, to be honest, but still!), but damn, that was impressive. Her and Keith had to backtrack after entering in the room for the first time and capture the Bidoof in the corridor…well, they could have simply moved the crate, but using a Pokémon to remove the obstacle was easier and quicker (and besides, she needed to train that technique).  
"Come on, it's perfectly safe. Bidoof, crush that crate!" she whispered, pointing the nearest one. The little animal moved with no hesitation, launching itself against the obstacle. Being the crate empty it simply fell on itself, leaving some sad planks behind. Good, now that the chokepoint between the shelves had been cleared she could search further in the library. She signalled the Bidoof to go free, before moving towards the back of the room.  
"I really hope you didn't hid it on the top of some shelf, because climbing on them is not exactly something I'd like to do in a room this dark."  
"No, no! It's not…"  
As Keith was finishing his answer, Kate spotted the Styler, and she decided to cut short the phrase.  
"Oh, it's on a table of the study area. Good."  
Keith looked at her with a puzzled expression (at least, she thought it was puzzled. It's not like she could be sure, in all that darkness).  
"Wow…how did you see that so quickly? It would have taken ages to me, if I hadn't know where to search."  
He seemed…sincere. Kate instantly felt bad for treating him like dirt before…sure, he was a show-off and… _Kate, you're insulting him again_. Right. Well, he had his flaws, but he probably wasn't doing it with the express purpose of belittling her. Even Rhythmi had said that he was better than he could seem…maybe she should have given him another chance. And maybe not chewing him out at every word he said.  
"I…just concentrate on what I'm doing, and shut away anything else."  
The girl grabbed the Styler, before attaching it to her belt along with the one she had already recovered.  
"Oh. You do that also when you're trying to capture a Pokémon?"  
"Yup."  
Keith, scratched his head, before following her towards the exit.  
"No wonder you are so quick even if you have no experience. I always hear anyone complaining that their emotions get in the way, the first times, but if you are able to not think about them…"  
She shrugged, carefully walking again across the broken crate.  
"Well, no, I'm not able to completely forget them. But I've found out I'm able to put them aside, even if it's difficult. I guess I need to work on it."  
Oh, there was the exit. Kate turned the doorknob exiting in the dimly lit corridor.  
"I think one Ranger that came the last year for an Outdoor class said something like that…he said…uh…Ah, right. 'I just think about why I wanted to be a Ranger in the first place: protecting nature, Pokémon and people. Nothing else matters'. It was inspiring."  
It really was: short, but effective. She smiled, starting to walk towards their next objective. It was quite surprising how quickly her attitude towards Keith had changed during that conversation…heh, Rhyth was a genius, when people were concerned: she probably knew something like this was going to happen. Oh, well, she would thank her later, now she had work to do.

* * *

They were looking in the last place remaining, their classroom, after a pretty uneventful search in Mr. Kincaid's…unless you count as 'eventful' being chased by a pair of angry Zubat and a few sleepy Bidoof. Kate was now trying, with the light provided by her Styler's display, to see in the gaps of the crates scattered in the room, searching for the one containing their objective. She could just have smashed every crate available, true, but that would have meant going back and forth from the other classroom to catch enough Bidoof to do so, and she clearly wasn't too keen on the idea…which was good, because they had purposefully chosen the farthest one from the entrance of the class and he really wished that test to end soon.  
"So…why dark makes you this nervous?"  
Keith jumped, not expecting the sudden question.  
"Me? Nervous? Nonsense!"  
Which was, truth to be told, a lie. It's not like he was _scared_ of the dark…come on, only little children are! But…well, dark _did_ make him nervous. He knew there was nothing _dangerous_ lurking around, and the 'someone must go with you' rule had been made with something as mundane as 'accidentally stepping on a Bidoof and spraining your ankle' in mind…but still, the almost complete obscurity strung the wrong chords in him. He slowly shook his head, trying to not let his thoughts going in directions he didn't want to, instead focusing on Kate…currently kneeled in front of the right crate, position that required additional effort for him to not stare at her butt.  
"If you say so. Oh, look, that's the Styler."  
Good, at least she hadn't pursued the subject. He hadn't talked about… _his issue_ with anyone there, and he sure wasn't going to do so with a person he barely knew. Sure, Kate was interesting and he supposed they could become friend, but really, he wasn't going to open his heart and mind to a person just because she looked 'interesting'. Kate finally got up, signalling one of the Bidoof she had caught earlier in the other classroom (it had been really adamant in not letting them go peacefully, so she had to calm it) to come closer.  
"Crush the crate, please."  
The creature looked at her for one instant, before turning towards the crate and smashing with one hit. _Target cleared_. Once its purpose had been fulfilled Kate released it, after thanking the furry creature with a brief pat on its head. She looked at it trot away for an instant, before starting to search between the remains of the broken crate.  
"Found it!"  
Keith nodded, pointing towards the door.  
"That's all of them! Let's take them down to the basement."  
Thank goodness they were almost done! Sure, the most dangerous part was actually the basement, since they weren't technically allowed down there, but really, how high the chances were that there still was someone there?

* * *

They walked down the basement stairs slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. A faint sound resounded in the air, but Kate simply assumed it was the cry of some kind of Pokémon and promptly proceeded to ignore it. Keith, on the other hand…  
"Did…you heard that? I…"  
He immediately stopped, before moving a step or two further in the corridor.  
"Wait. We didn't put obstacles down here…so what's that doing there?"  
Kate moved forward too, seeing what the red-haired boy had meant: in front of them was standing a tall wooden fence, with a door in the middle to allow passage. With a quick thrust later she confirmed that the door was closed, perhaps with a lock on the other side or something.  
"Strange…hey, I've got an idea. Let's cut an opening…I think that…"  
Kate nodded, having already understood what Keith was implying. She activated her Styler, starting to carefully studying her surroundings.  
"…Zubat can do that, yes. It's not too thick, it should work."  
She was about to give up and going back to Mr. Kincaid's class to catch one when a shape darted in the air in front of her. Talk about luck…  
" _Capture on!_ "  
She immediately led the ejected Disk around the Zubat before it could dart away, leaving behind a bright tail. It didn't took long before it was captured, despite its sound-based attacks being more difficult to see and predict than the usual dash or spark of electricity. _Capture complete_.  
"Good boy. Zubat, cut a hole in that fence!"  
The flying Pokémon didn't need to be told twice, and soon a portion of wood fell on the ground with a low thump, creating an hole big enough for them to pass through.  
"Thank you, Zubat. Goodbye!"  
Kate didn't lose time to squeeze through the opening, quickly followed by Keith. They walked in the dimly lit corridor in silence, only stopping in front of the last door in the corridor.  
"Let's just put those down and go back, I can't take much more of…wait. Have you heard? I think I…"  
He never managed to finish the phrase. With a shrill chorus of wails three Gastly appeared in front of them, making Keith literally jump back in shock, a small shriek repressed at the last second. Kate was about to tell him to stop being so dramatic and help her calming them, when she remembered that his Styler was still firmly fixed on her belt. Oh, well, she simply had to do that alone.  
She launched the Disk, before leaping to the side to avoid a lick from a nearby Gastly that had suddenly appeared in front of her. She had just managed to close a loop around two of the creatures when she felt a cold sensation behind her. She jumped to the left, one split second before another Gastly, appeared from nowhere, could lick her. Okay, that situation required desperate measures. Carefully running around to avoid other sneak attacks she started spinning her Styler madly, in a gamble to avoid both being hit and letting the ghosts damage the Styler. Sweat started dripping from her forehead, but her actions were rewarded when she managed to capture three Pokémon in one loop, leaving only one standing. A few loops later and that Gastly had been also befriended and, after looking at them for a moment, disappeared along with his friends.  
"Phew. It was just a Gastly!" Keith exclaimed, rather loudly.  
Kate looked towards him with a frown on her face and was about to tell him to not shout, when she heard the door behind them being slammed open.  
"WHO'S THERE?!"  
Feeling her blood run cold she leaped forward, grabbing Keith's wrist and pulling him along in her run, darting away from the spot they had been standing. She really hoped she had been fast enough and that they hadn't been recognized.

* * *

Kincaid looked at the fleeing shapes, running away in the damn corridor because apparently being in a place they were forbidden to enter wasn't breaking enough rules for them. He scoffed, realizing that the fact that he hadn't been able to recognize the students sneaking in there just added insult to injury…wait, and what about the fence he had installed near the stairs? _Damn brats and their…_  
"Is something the matter, sir?"  
He sighed, turning back and closing the door behind him. The blonde boy inside the room, that had been previously busy examining the results of an earlier experiment, had raised his head, looking at him with worry.  
"…No, it's nothing. Just a Zubat making a minor disturbance in the hallway."  
"Oh."  
He swore, that boy might have been a genius (and he had to admit, he _was_ , no doubt about it), but he sure was gullible like a five years old child.  
"So…what are the results? Was the experiment successful? Or was it a failure?"  
The boy shrugged, passing an hand into his peculiar mushroom-shaped hair.  
"It's impossible to say yet…the control systems aren't complete, but I think it's just a matter of adjustment now."  
Kincaid gravely nodded, looking straight at the boy in front of him.  
"Isaac. I'm counting on you to succeed. But, said that, it's also quite late. Let's call it a night on our research and continue tomorrow with a fresh mind."  
Isaac nodded, the hint of a smile on his face.  
"Right, I will return to my dorm. Goodnight, Mr. Kincaid."

* * *

"Uuugh. I don't know who decided to put Athletics class for the Rangers at the first hours of the day. It's insane!" Keith muttered, rubbing his eyes.  
Kate slowly nodded, before trying in vain to repress a yawn. Damn courage test…she had been so overflowing with adrenaline that she hadn't managed to sleep for hours, instead shifting uncomfortably in her bed. At least Rhythmi had believed their story, because let's be frank, having to repeat everything (or being branded as a coward) would have really been the last straw.  
"Ah, and at least you sleep in the dorms! I have to take the bus from Pueltown to the Academy every morning."  
A guy next to them had just commented, and Kate was about to answer when the sound of a whistle resounded in the courtyard.  
"Okay, Lawson and Carter! You're the first in the obstacle course."  
 _Just great_. Kate was starting to groan, when a brilliant idea formed in her mind.  
"Last one arriving buys the other lunch this weekend!" she said, with a sly smile, before darting towards the track. Keith blinked twice, surprised, before a similar grin spread on his face.  
"Ah! Prepare your wallet, Lawson! I'm not going to let you win!" he said, before running after her. Well, at least now they weren't feeling tired anymore, she supposed.


	3. Dossier - Ranger School

_The Ranger School (sometimes also called Ranger Academy) is the major centre of training for the Union operative staff (Rangers, Operators and Mechanics). Founded almost sixty years ago (as was the modern Union), the School is internationally recognized as one of the most successful education facilities around the world, being often compared in academical spheres to much more ancient and famous institutes such as the Kantian Pokémon Research University…and being pretty much ignored in more general settings, mainly thanks to the insular and secluded nature of the Union nations. The fact that most graduates tend to be absorbed into the Union doesn't help, though firms are always eager to recruit those who choose a different path, especially Mechanics and Operators.  
The competition to enter the School is fierce (due to the School only accepting a limited number of students each year), and students (from ages to 12 to 15) that _do _pass the tests (which consist in a written and practical part) in eligible position are either offered a stay in the School's campus for the highest ranking students, or given the opportunity to simply follow the classes…which of course translates into correspondence courses for all the students that live too far from the campus. It's entirely possible for a student to graduate only with correspondence courses, but in that case a short apprenticeship period is required before the student can be considered a full-fledged Operator, Mechanic or Ranger. Said period depends mostly on the chosen branch (Operators are required shorter periods than Mechanics or Rangers), but also on the students' ability to absorb practical lessons. For students older than the recommended age the only possibility is to follow the correspondence courses, but otherwise their status is considered the same.  
Every year students that don't live on campus are given the possibility to gain a place there by participating again to the selection tests (with tests that are of course different from the ones for freshmen), with a good part of the available positions reserved to them, due to the importance placed on having practical experience, even if in a controlled environment such as the Ranger School. In fact, this emphasis on practical experience allowed (and still allows) even a person who has never attended the School's classes to become a full-fledged member of the Union, provided that a senior member is willing to accept them as an apprentice for all the time they believe they need (infamous is the case of Lunick Traynor, who managed to save Fiore, assisted by his fellow Rangers, during the second year of his apprenticeship in the Ringtown base). The advancement in long-distance communication methods and the increasing unwillingness of senior officers to take responsibility of a (mostly) untrained newbie makes this a road less and less travelled, but it's still considered a legitimate choice.  
The School offers a three year course, with the first two representing a "common path", an experience not too different from a normal school, and the last one being a specialization year, with a few common classes and separate lessons depending on the path chosen, after which the students are ready to graduate and start working.  
It's been often argued whether it's safe or not to consider 16 years old teenagers for jobs that often include extreme exposure to danger, when the age required to legally own Pokémon and compete in Leagues is 18 in the rest of the world (after the infamous events in Kanto and Johto and the complaints about children's education), but the Union (and the government behind them) has always rejected these complaints, as the young graduates are always followed by seniors member and never allowed to wander into dangerous situations they aren't equipped to handle, unlike a freelance Pokémon trainer. Besides, the age of majority in Union territory is exactly 16, so it's a moot point anyway.  
Promising Mechanics are offered, after graduation, the possibility of studying abroad in prestigious Universities, with the expenses covered by the Union (provided that the students graduate from these institutes in time, and that they plan to work at least initially for the Union). These students, along with scientists and doctor not trained by the School but hired by the Union in a second moment, form one of the elites of the Union, the prestigious Science and Medicine department._


	4. Slowly forming bonds

_Eva: Thank you for your critique (though "critique" does sound bad)! In fact, I think you're right, I should definitely distance myself from the script dialog more. Also, the focus of the fic will be Kate, yes (since she is the main character), but also all the interesting characters that I think deserve focus (Keith, Rhythmi, spoilerific characters wink wink you know what I mean...) and I intend to keep adding world building snippets, so I hope I'll manage to give the fic its own personality, so to speak. Sadly, the early chapters are already written, so I don't have much room to maneuvre (and, frankly, I don't want to write them again), but newer chapters will definitely follow your suggestion. Again, thanks for your support!_

* * *

 _Hey Sis!_

 _I'm glad you arrived safely to Almia, and even more glad you are doing well at the School! Here things are going as usual,_ _nothing really important happening_ _oh no wait, did you know that I rescued a Skitty that was stuck in a Bluk Berry bush? I got thorns everywhere and Mom yelled at me for an hour, but seeing the little dear happy was more important. Oh, oh, and Mom and Dad are considering moving to Almia! Fiddlestick, that was the most important thing and I almost forgot…  
Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon!  
Love, your Sis  
_

* * *

"Oooh! I can't believe today is the day! Outdoor class!"  
Rhythmi clapped her hands, walking towards Ascension Square with all the other students. Kate smiled, half amused by the enthusiastic reactions around her and half unable to not being affected by the collective mirth. Keith, next to her, couldn't stop bouncing like a Spoink.  
"I've heard this time we got a Ranger who graduated just a few years ago!"  
"And I've heard he has a _giant afro_!"  
A third girl had joined the conversation, giggling. Giant afro? Well, that was going to be interesting, at least. Finally arrived in front of the Pledge stone, they could see that 'giant afro' wasn't much of an exaggeration…though the effect of that hairdo was slightly dimmed by the impressive height of the Ranger.  
"Ha! Told ya."  
The students obediently disposed themselves around the Ranger and Principal Lamont, next to him. Ms. April stayed on the sidelines, a smile on her face.  
"Very well, it appears as if everyone is with us. Let's get this Outdoor Class started."  
Principal Lamont cleared his throat, before putting an hand on the shoulder of the Ranger.  
"This is Crawford. He graduated from the School three years ago, and now he's a Pokémon Ranger in Vientown."  
Crawford walked a step forward, before showing his Ranger pose…and a Budew closely hugging his leg, probably his Partner Pokémon.  
"Hello, everyone! Like Principal Lamont said, let's get started! I'm sure you all have a lot of questions…"  
Oh, he really had no idea. That was going to be a long class…

* * *

"He was awesome! Thought Ms. April kept looking at that afro and probably imagined to cut it with a big pair of gardening scissors."  
Keith, still jumping up and down, gingerly nodded.  
"Oh, oh! And how he jumped on that boat to go and rescue that Mantine! Man, I wish to be like him when I will be a Ranger."  
Rhyth clapped her hands together, basically starting to jump too.  
"Oh, and when I asked him if I could become an Operator…he said yes! A real Ranger guaranteed that!"  
Kate, still immune to the apparent frenzy that had apparently possessed her friends, shrugged.  
"Come on Rhyth, no one can guarantee that. The only way is through hard work…hey!"  
Rhythmi had apparently decided to punch her shoulder mid-sentence. The hit hadn't been painful or anything, but she had been surprised anyway. The blonde girl puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.  
"Geez, Kate, I know that! And that's what I will do…I will work, work and work until my dream becomes true!"  
She smiled again, and Keith nodded, pointing his index finger skyward.  
"I'm not going to slack off, either! Not with a rival like Kate!"  
He put down his arm and suddenly a sparkle lightened his eyes.  
"I have an idea. Let's make a promise by the Pledge stone, the three of us, now. Let's pledge to each other that we'll make our dreams come true!" he said, before extending an arm in front of him, palm down.  
That was…a surprisingly nice idea. Rhyth enthusiastically nodded, putting her hand over Keith's.  
"You betcha! I'll pledge that!"  
Kate smiled, before joining the heap of hands. She remembered what Rhythmi had said, her first day there. A promise with friends will surely become true…as she had said before, she knew her hard work and skill were the only things she needed to succeed. And yet…wouldn't be nice for her to believe in a little fable, just for one time?  
"And me too. I have no intention of giving up my dreams, now more than ever."  
Rhyth grinned, her eyes shining even brighter.  
"That's the spirit!"  
They remained still for a few seconds, savouring the sanctity of the moment, before retracting their hand. The moment had passed, after all: it was time to return to reality.  
"Let's get back, shall we?" Kate said, pointing with her thumb in the direction of the Academy. The other two nodded, before silently following her up the stairs of Ascension square.

* * *

"So, to summarize: if there is no trust between Rangers and Operators, even a simple mission could end in disaster."  
Ms. April, her unusually long introduction to the class concluded, stopped in front of her desk, barely covering the bag on it with her body.  
"Now, who can tell me how usually Rangers and Operators communicate?"  
Rhythmi raised her hands, and Ms. April nodded in her direction.  
"With voicemails!"  
The teacher nodded again, the hint of a smile on her lips.  
"That's right, miss Tennyson. Operators can send voicemails both from local Station and from the Operation's Room, in the Union, while Rangers can use a similar function through their Styler. Now, as you know the School Stylers have this function turned off…"  
Having said that she turned, removing from the bag two shiny red objects, the whole class holding their breath.  
"…But when Principal Lamont visited the Union they graciously agreed to give us a few samples of real Stylers! Right now, the Mechanics are examining the circuitry in the lab, but I have something a little different for you in mind."  
The class buzzed with excitement for a few seconds, but Ms. April's gaze was enough to make them quiet.  
"We will form many Operators-Rangers couples, and we will experiment a little with the voicemail function. I have prepared a special task for each couple, so don't push and be patient while you wait for your turn, everyone will get to practice. Before we start, remember: you won't be able to succeed if you don't cooperate with your partner."  
Ms. April smiled, before talking again.  
"Now, let's start. Miss Tennyson, you're the first Operator. Mister Carter…"  
A girl in the back row raised her hand, while pointing to the empty desk next to her.  
"Uhm…Ms. April? Keith isn't here, today."  
The woman was surprised for a second, probably because she hadn't noticed the boy's absence.  
"Oh, you're right. Mmh, strange. He has arrived sometimes late in class, but to outright miss the lesson…does anyone know if he feels alright?"  
Silence. The boys looked at each other, but no one actually said anything. Ms. April briefly shook her head, before continuing.  
"Nevermind, then. Miss Lawson, then you'll be the first Ranger."  
She handed one Styler to Rhythmi, before passing the other to Kate. The pig-tailed girl looked at the shiny contraption in her hands but, to be honest, the moment had been quite spoiled by Keith's absence. What was he doing? She really hoped he wasn't putting himself in trouble…nah, she was being paranoid. He had probably overslept or something. Kate shook her head, as Ms. April spoke again.  
"Be sure to understand the basic commands of the voicemails, and then we will get started."  
Rhythmi turned towards Kate and gave her a smile, even with a shadow of worry on her face. She then proceeded to switch on the Styler, and fiddle for an instant or two with it.  
"Okay, open this, confirm…Hey, Kate! Can you hear me?"  
Kate, that had just done the same, glared at her.  
"Rhyth, we're in the same room. Of course I can hear you."  
"…Oh. Then exit, and let's try again."  
Kate sighed, before getting up and marching towards the door…door that opened suddenly and forced her to an hasty step back to avoid crashing with…Mr. Kincaid?  
"Hey! No running in the classroom, either!"  
 _Great._ A part of her mind asked itself if he had recognized her from one of the students in that time in the basement, but the other reassured her: he was this way with everyone. She stepped aside, as he strode into the room, promptly proceeding to ignore Kate and addressing Ms. April.  
"Ms. April, I'm awfully sorry to disrupt your class. There is a small matter about which I'd like to speak to mister Carter."  
She blinked for a second, before slightly shaking her head.  
"Oh…well…he's running late, today. It's not like him, but…"  
The smirk that appeared on the man's face couldn't possibly mean anything good.  
"Late, you say? You see, we have a problem on our hands."  
 _Oh no_.  
"We had the Stylers for the Mechanics to examine temporally held in the staffroom…had, being the key world. The entire lot of them has disappeared. I have already confirmed that all my students and all the younger ones are all either in class or in the infirmary, so it left only your class, and now that you tell me this Carter is uncharacteristically absent from class…"  
It wasn't hard to see what direction the situation was taking. He clearly had suspected Keith from the beginning, and now that, for whatever reason, he had resulted to be absent…Kate was about to open her mouth and protest, but Rhythmi was faster, springing up from her chair and crossing her hands in front of her chest.  
"Mr. Kincaid! Keith may be a prankster, but he's no thief!"  
The man only looked at her with a steely gaze, clearly unconvinced.  
"Oh, please. He runs in the hallways, he sneaks in places he shouldn't be…"  
 _Ouch_. Either he _had_ recognized them, or Keith had sneaked in before and had been caught.  
"…it's only natural he should be viewed with suspicion."  
Kate looked towards Mr. April…and saw at least irritation behind her seemingly impassive façade. At least she hadn't been quick to condemn Keith too, Kate supposed. Then…the woman suddenly smiled, and the whole class knew she was about to _destroy_ Mr. Kincaid. She spoke, a falsely sweet tone that clearly showed the steel beneath.  
"Mr. Kincaid, isn't what you always preach? That it's wrong to cast suspicion with others without proof?"  
The tone became clearly icy as she glared towards Mr. Kincaid…making the man slightly recoil. Damn, Ms. April was a force of nature when she wanted to.  
"I will go search both for mister Carter and the missing Stylers. I'm sure there's a perfectly viable explanation for this."  
Kincaid blinked a few times, before shrugging and exiting the class. _Damn_. Rhythmi bit her lower lip, before turning her head towards Ms. April.  
"I want to help too!"  
The response of the class was not delayed.  
"Yeah, me too!"  
"Me too! Let's find him."  
"I know he's innocent!"  
Kate simply nodded, joining the other students that had grouped around Rhythmi. Ms. April looked at them, before nodding.  
"Okay, then. You know what to do. Miss Tennyson, please keep the Styler, for now, and distribute the remaining ones. Coordinate the search efforts as much as you can."  
"Yes, Ms. April!"  
The woman exited from the door, as one of the students grabbed the bag on her desk and passed it to Rhythmi. Under her directions the Stylers were safely distributed among a few students…heh, like a true emergency situation at the Union.  
"Okay, everyone, let's turn this place outside down! We must find Keith and prove his innocent! If you find anything, voicemail me. Gotcha?"  
The whole class nodded in unison.  
"Gotcha! Let's go!"

* * *

"Dammit, Keith. Where are you?"  
Kate sighed, after scratching the back of her head. She had (unsuccessfully) questioned everyone in Mr. Kincaid's class, but it had turned out to be a waste of time. The girls had no idea of what had happened, and the boys said that Keith had gotten out of the dorm as usual. What on earth was he doing?! She could not believe, even for a second, that he had been the one to steal the Styler…and yet, she couldn't help but worry. What if…No, there was no use in imagining scenarios, she had to stay focused and search more.  
She was about to get out and try to search the staffroom for clues, when her Styler beeped. No, wait, that wasn't her Styler…She quickly activated the red device in her hands, accepting the call from Rhythmi.  
"Voicemail! Voicemail! This is Rhythmi, on the ground floor."  
"Kate here. Have you got something, Rhythmi?"  
There was a small instant of silence, before the girl spoke again.  
"Yes! I've spoken to Mrs. Janice, and she said she found a red Styler in the courtyard! She was about to go report it to one of the teacher when I met her."  
Kate had already started running at the word "yes". She glided across the hallways, while answering the message.  
"Got it. I'll be there in a few seconds!"  
"Oh, I see you!"  
Rhyth lowered the Styler, signalling Kate to follow her out. Now that they were near, she didn't need to speak through voicemails, so she proceeded to talk about the situation a little more.  
"I have sent voicemails to the others, but for now I've told them to keep searching inside. If there are more problems, I'll call them. Let's go!"  
They darted outside, with Kate quickly outpacing Rhythmi and reaching the point where a red Styler was laying on the ground. She stopped, her eyes scanning her surroundings.  
"Ugh…Kate, you are too fast for me to keep up with!"  
She barely heard Rhythmi, as she leaped forward, towards the stairs.  
"… _Nevermind_."  
Kate suddenly stopped, just in front of another red Styler, this one laying on the grass next to the stairs leading to the School's gate.  
"Look, Rhythmi! This is another one! Let's go!"  
She waited briefly for the blonde girl to catch up, before quickly descending the steps that led to the grassy plaza in front of the school gates.  
"Wait, I see…It's Keith! And who's the other…?"  
Kate didn't answer, instead shouting Keith's name. The boy briefly turned in their directions, before pointing to the man in front of him, sweaty and with a big bag in his arms.  
"Thank goodness you're here! I was going to class after a…uh, little detour to the bathroom…when I saw this… _thief_ skulking in the corridors, with that big, suspicious bag. I shouted at him, and he started running! Damn, I don't know how he hides so well, but it took me all this time to corner him!"  
The man, now even more scared, shrieked something along the line of "Three against one is just unfair!" before turning around and running…straight into the tree behind him. A Slakoth, probably previously busy hanging in the branches of the tree, fell after the impact, desperately clinging at the first thing it could find…namely, the man's head. He unceremoniously dropped the bag to the ground and tried to remove the Pokémon from his head, all while desperately shrieking…and, needlessly to say, that effort only served to agitate further the poor creature, in turn making its grip even tighter.  
Keith didn't waste any time to approach the bag and snatch it away, before returning to Kate and Rhythmi's position.  
"AH! Serves him right!"  
He turned towards the girls, promptly proceeding to ignore the man, now shrieking even louder.  
"Let's go. Who cares about him?"  
That…made Rhythmi really mad. No, wait, 'really mad' would be an understatement. Her cheeks flared, her eyes lighting up with indignation as she clearly resisted the temptation to slap Keith in the head.  
"Keith Carter, are you going mad?! It's a Ranger's job to help Pokémon _and_ people! Even if you want to ignore the thief, Slakoth needs our help! **Kate**! Let's capture it!"  
Kate didn't need to be told twice. She nodded, extracting her Styler and ejecting the capture disk.  
"Capture on!"  
Circling the Pokémon was tricky, considering that it was standing on the head of a frantically moving man, but she was sure she could manage. A second disk joined her a few instants later…Keith, she guessed. Together, they completed the capture in a pair of loops; a victory celebrated by a discreet, synchronous beeping. _Capture complete_. The Pokémon, now calm, released its grip from the man's head, slowly climbing down instead.  
"Oh, there you are! Thank you, miss Tennyson, for giving us your position."  
That was…Ms. April's voice? Oh, right, Rhyth had probably sent a voicemail while they had been busy with the capture.  
"Ms. April! We caught the Styler's thief! In that bag there are all the stolen items."  
Her expression lightened with relief for a second, before turning in a much colder one when she looked at the man…who promptly started weeping. Kate couldn't help to roll her eyes, as the man started to bawl some kind of overdrawn excuse.  
"I…I…am sorry! I…I've always had this dream of becoming a Ranger, but…I had so many dreams…and I could never decide which one to follow…but I couldn't give up on my first dream! So I thought, that, that…with a Styler, I could become…"  
By that point, all the three students were shaking their head, hoping for the monologue to end; Ms. April, however, had listened everything with attention…and she very clearly didn't like what she had heard.  
"What are you saying?! If you had bothered to do a little check, you could have known that adults can enrol in our Ranger School, if motivated enough. But you weren't, were you? You just drifted from one dream to another, without the willpower to choose one, and then took what you thought was the easy way!"  
The thought that the man in front of them could have been her, if she hadn't been motivated or lucky enough, immediately hit Kate. Yet another reason to keep doing her best, she supposed.  
"I…when I saw all those Stylers…I couldn't resist! I wanted only one, but then…"  
"You couldn't decide, and tried to took them all, like your dreams. You're greedy, aren't you."  
She sighed, without speaking, for a few seconds.  
"You should go home and think about what you've done…and what you will do with your life. You could even think about how become a Ranger, _properly_ this time."  
…What? Kate blinked a few times (and she could have sworn her companions were doing the same), clearly surprised by that last statement. Why? Okay, she didn't really expect Ms. April to send him to jail, but to let him walk away scot free…well, Kate didn't know whether she would have done the same, in her position. No, she _did_ know: she wouldn't have.  
"…I'll…do that. W-w-wait! Are you…letting me go?! Without punishment or anything?!"  
Aaaand he had finally saw the Donphan in the room.  
"You didn't actually stole them, did you? You can go…but don't even think of trying this again!"  
Oh, no, the man had started crying again. But…well, at least this was all over, uh?  
"I…I will! Thank you…thank you!"

* * *

"…And so, mister Carter was just trying to catch the thief who made off with the Stylers."  
Ms. April ended her (quite long explanation), before turning her head towards Principal Lamont. The man, after thinking for a second or two, shook his head.  
"To think that all of this happened in my absence…At least no one got hurt, and the recovering of the Stylers? I'd say that was a nice bonus."  
Mr. Kincaid, next to him, clearly wasn't that convinced. He muttered something under his breath, probably to the tone of "Yeah, but he still runs in the hallways!". Ms. April simply sent him a cold glare, before turning towards the three lined students in front of her. She walked in front of Rhythmi, a smile forming on her lips.  
"I must say, I was impressed by miss Tennyson's ability to coordinate and direct everyone's effort, other than the trust in her friends and colleagues…those are easily the most important qualities for an Operator."  
Rhythmi smiled back, clearly pleased. Ms. April lightly nodded, before moving in front of Kate.  
"And miss Lawson. Your ability to work and react fast in coordination with the assigned Operator was excellent…like your ability with captures. I could tell right away by looking at that Slakoth, even if it was a collaborative effort. Good job."  
Kate was about to smile, too, when she noticed Ms. April's smile dimming as she moved towards Keith. Uh-oh…that couldn't mean anything good.  
"Mister Carter. You're way too reckless, and you need to rely more on others. There's only so much a Ranger can do alone, no matter how skilled. One day, you might find yourself in a situation that will make you realize that…so, for your own good, I'd suggest you to learn this lesson soon."  
She sighed, before shaking her head.  
"But, said that…you actually did a good deed, today…Mister Carter? Are you even listening to me?!"  
And now Keith was just _begging_ for disaster to strike! However, he didn't seem to have noticed that…because he simply shook his head, starting to talk.  
"That thief didn't get away…we _let him go!_ " _  
_He really had not liked that move, didn't he? Well, even Kate would have preferred otherwise, but not enough to sulk that way! He turned towards Rhythmi, a strange light in his eyes. _  
"_ Rhyth, you understand the rotten way I feel right now? But…you believed in me, once again. I…"  
 _That sounded a lot like a confession of some kind_. Rhyth shook her head, cutting his last phrase.  
"I know, dummy. I know."  
Silence fell, for a few, uncomfortable moments before Principal Lamont spoke again, in a soft tone not unlike someone reminding themselves something almost forgotten.  
"Like the thief today, perhaps there are shadows always lurking inside all of our hearts. The important is never give up to these shadows. You know, there's an ancient word, in old Almian…' _vatonage'_. It means 'reawakening the light that had been swallowed by darkness'."  
He smiled, his eyes wandering over the three students.  
"Today, you all shine with the brilliance of gems. May you never lose that shine."  
There was…solemnity, in his words. Ancient wisdom, brought back through the mists of time for a few, precious instants, soon to be lost again once the moment had passed. He shook his head, before shrugging, an happy expression that tried to cover his previous, serious one.  
"But I've rambled enough. Come on, it's time for you to return to class."


	5. New connections

_…_ _And, in short, we've found an house in Almia! Isn't that great?! It's a place called Chichole, a small farmers' village south from Vientown. We even bought a field for Dad! Which is good, because this way he hasn't to search for a new job and can keep doing what he's good at. Anyway, we'll see you again when you graduate, and good luck until then!  
Love, Sis  
_

* * *

"Ugh. I can't believe the hour I will have to get up tomorrow to catch the bus to the Union."  
Kate lifted her eyes from the textbook she was reading, looking at Rhythmi's defeated expression. The pig-tailed girl, after an instant of silence, smirked.  
"Well, you can always walk instead."  
…Which only gained her a glare from her friend.  
"Ah. Ah. Ah. So very funny, Kate."  
Keith, next to them, inserted himself in the conversation.  
"Oh, look at the bright side of things! We'll be in a _real_ Base…"  
"Ahem."  
"…And the Union. In a certain sense, I envy you. The Union is a big place to start, even if only for a day."  
Rhythmi sighed.  
"I know, right?! I don't know if I should be terrified or ecstatic."  
"How about terrifyingly ecstatic?"  
Rhyth was about to comment, but she stopped, thinking for a second before shrugging.  
"Well, yeah, I think that sums up what I'm feeling pretty well."  
Keith chuckled, before turning his head towards Kate.  
"I wonder what tomorrow will be like for us. Vientown is a pretty little town, but I'm still pretty excited to be there."  
She simply shrugged.  
"We'll see tomorrow, I guess."

* * *

Rhythmi had departed an hour before, and now Kate was waiting for Keith to show up…she only hoped that the excitement of the day could get him out of bed in time (like her, he hated to get up early. Unlike her, he tended to oversleep), because otherwise she was going to leave him at the School and go alone (and hope she could find the road on her own). Luckily for her Keith _did_ show up in time (sorta), so the nightmarish scenario of her wandering forever in eastern Almia's forests until rescue squads could find her was averted. He had just yawned for the six time in a few minutes when he stopped right in his track, before pointing to a tree not too far from the School's gate.  
"Uh? Isn't that Little Tim?"  
Kate looked in that direction…seeing the bizarre scene of a man, desperately hugging the trunk of the tree, surrounded by Bidoof.  
"…Who? The one climbing that tree?"  
"Oh. Right, it's your first time seeing him…he's the milkman."  
They exchanged one look, before moving towards the strange group.  
"Hey, playing tag with the Bidoof?"  
The man turned his head towards them and, now that she was nearer, she could see his slender body shaking (probably for the effort of staying glued to the trunk).  
"NO! Can't you see?! These B-bi-bi-Bidoof are attacking me! _They want to maul me!_ "  
Oh, so it _wasn't_ physical fatigue: he was trembling because he was _scared_. But…scared by a pair of Bidoof? Really? The worst they could do was inflict a bite, and to be honest it was kinda hard to provoke them to that point; normally they just chased off people without causing further harm.  
"Oh, come on, they just want to play!"  
Keith's serene tone had no discernible effect on the man, however.  
"Oh, easy for you to tell! Pokémon scare me to death!"  
 _Oh_. So that's why he was so nervous…but why were the Bidoof cornering him?  
"Aww, but they're so cute! And they're probably attracted by the smell of milk, that's why they're so skittish."  
Okay, she had no more questions. She turned her heads towards Keith, who did the same once he noticed her movement. Bidoof weren't dangerous, fine, but they needed to help the man.  
"Keith…"  
He nodded.  
"Yes, gotcha. They are probably harmless, but they _are_ a little agitated, so I guess it's our duty. Let's go! I'll take one, you take the other."  
Kate nodded back, before extracting her Styler and readying the launch.  
" _Capture on!_ " her and Keith shouted in unison, ejecting their disks. It only took them a few loops to complete the capture, and the Pokémon were too surprised by those sudden, luminous things around them to even try to fight back. The teens guided their disks back to their hands, before calling the Bidoof to them, away from the tree.  
"Okay, everything's under control! You can get down, now."  
The man blinked a few times, before starting to slowly descend (not an easy task, considering how much he was trembling).  
"Aye, that scared me a-plenty! I was good and scared, but I was saved. I was saved but I'm still good and scared…but really, I owe you a big thanks. Those Bidoof would have mauled me without your intervention."  
It was only in that moment that he noticed Kate, and his expression became a puzzled one.  
"Mmmh…are you a new student, now that I think about it?"  
Kate nodded and was about to answer when Keith decided to do so in her place.  
"Yep. Little Tim, Kate. Kate, Little Tim. She's from Fiore and she's awesome in captures. Second only to me, even."  
 _Oh, Keith, shut up_.  
"Strange, I could say the same thing regarding you, Keith."  
Serves you right, Keith. Little Tim laughed, even if the laugh was still a little weak.  
"Ahah, she's a sharp one, isn't she? Anyway, thank you for saving me. I run a small dairy farm with my family just outside of Vientown. You should visit sometimes, if you are there. Our young'uns will be happy to have you visit."  
He nodded, probably to confirm what he had just said, before pointing towards the gate.  
"Well, I'm afraid duty calls. Thank you again for saving me, I'm sure one day you'll make fine Rangers. Goodbye!"  
Said that he waved, before bouncing away through the nearby gate. He walked to a little van with a Miltank painted on the side, before entering it and starting it. Keith and Kate had started walking again, when suddenly the pig-tailed stopped, hitting her head with the palm of her left hand.  
"Wait. We could have asked him to take us with him to Vientown."  
Their eyes darted to the van…but sadly, it was too far for them to reach, now.  
" _…Crap_. Well, better get moving, or we'll risk arriving late." Keith said, ending the phrase with a shrug. Oh, well, she guessed that walking was a nice exercise, after all.

* * *

"Well, to be honest I'm glad we don't have to take a bus. Today is really a nice day to be outside."  
Was he being sincere, or was he still sore about the missed ride? Not that it mattered, really.  
"Yeah."  
"Oh…isn't that a child on the bridge?"  
A…child? Oh, now she saw her too: a little blonde girl, probably around the age of Kate's own sister, her head moving right and left as if searching for something.  
"Yes, it seems so. Let's go and see, shall we?"  
Kate nodded, before jogging forward. The girl, probably because of the sound of her footsteps on the wooden bridge, turned her head in her direction, a definitely distressed expression on her face. Kate smiled, trying to be as reassuring as possible.  
"Hi. Is something the matter?"  
The girl…ouch, she seemed on the verge of crying.  
"My big brother…he should pass from here but…"  
Keith, finally arrived next to Kate, tried to put up his best smile.  
"Your big bro, uh? What's his name?"  
…With absolutely no effect whatsoever. In fact, the girl was now starting to sob, and neither of them had the slightest idea of what to do. Kate was about to propose taking the girl to the School and let the teachers deal with the problem when a voice came from behind them.  
"Oh, hi. What's going on?"  
A boy, with unusual dark green hair and wearing the School uniform, was walking in their direction, with someone else not too far from him. Kate asked herself who he was, before inspiration struck: he was a boy attending Mr. Kincaid's class, and was known around the School for having dilemmas for almost everything, ranging from his future job to what to get for lunch.  
"Ponte? Shouldn't you…"  
The boy shrugged, a defeated expression.  
"…Have taken the bus? Yeah, but…we kinda lost it. Who's that girl?"  
"…Melody?"  
The other person was now near enough to be seen, and this time Kate had no trouble in recognizing him: Isaac, the genius student…and apparently, the missing brother. The little girl's face immediately lightened as she run in his direction, hugging him as soon as she could reach him.  
"Isaac! Hi! I came to meet you!"  
Isaac frowned, putting his hands on his sister's shoulders and gently pushing her back.  
"Melody, I told you not to! I said that we would meet in Pueltown…I wasn't even supposed to be here! What would have you done if I had took the bus like I was supposed to?"  
Melody immediately lost her cheerful expression, proceeding to look downwards with a defeated look.  
"I…I'm sorry."  
Kate knew that kind of situation: normally, that was the point where the younger sibling won the argument by being adorable and genuinely (or not) distressed.  
"Oh, Melody…You're still little, that's why I worry so much about you. Please, don't cry."  
Told you so. Melody raised her head, nodding with a smile that had still sadness in it but was becoming increasingly serene.  
"Mh-mh."  
Isaac sighed, before raising his head and smiling towards the others, before putting once again an hand on his sister's shoulder.  
"Here, let me introduce you to my friends. She, as you probably have already understood, is my sister, Melody."  
Ponte smiled back, waving one hand.  
"Hi, Melody! I'm Ponte, and they are Keith and Kate. Nice to meet you."  
Keith and Kate nodded, with Keith adding an additional 'nice to meet you'. Presentations done, Isaac lightly patted the shoulder under his hand, looking down towards his sister.  
"Come on, let's go together. We'll get the next bus for Pueltown in Vientown."  
"We're going there, too. We can walk together, if you like."  
The one speaking had been Keith , but, for once, Kate agreed. Isaac looked at Ponte for a moment, before nodding.  
"Good idea. It's a shame there are so few buses passing from the School, but at least Vientown isn't that far."  
They started to walk in silence, Keith and Kate in front, Isaac, holding Melody's hand, in the middle and Ponte in the back.  
"So, are you two going to Vientown's base?" said Isaac after a while, breaking the silence. Kate nodded, turning back to look at him.  
"Yup! What about you?"  
"I'm going to Altru Inc. Considering the fact that they've already insisted to hire me when I graduate, well…it was not that surprising when I got assigned there."  
 _Really?_ Though, she shouldn't have been surprised: if the boy really was the genius everyone said he was, it was just normal for industries and companies to fight for him. Though, it was really admirable of him to choose a relatively little company, but interested in a noble pursuit and native to his region, instead of, say, foreign megacorps like Silph. Keith whistled, clearly as impressed as Kate, before answering.  
"Wha…woah, congratulations. What about you, Ponte?"  
The boy simply shrugged, before shaking his head and finally answering after a second or two of silence.  
"Well…you know I'm studying for the Mechanic specialization, but…I'm not really sure it's the right choice for me."  
"They don't call you the conflicted marshmallow boy for nothing, Ponte."  
Kate sent him a cold glare, weighting in her head the pros and cons of elbowing him in the guts in front of a little girl, and finally settling for a simple verbal warning.  
" _Keith!_ "  
"Oh, no, it's alright, Kate. He has a point…I hope that working at the Pueltown Ranger base will help me decide what do I want to do."  
The amount of resignation in that phrase made Kate feel bad for the guy. She smiled, using her most convincing tone.  
"Well, Mechanics' skills are requested almost everywhere in the world. Even if you decide to not work in the Union, I'm sure you can find somewhere else to work at."  
She never knew whether her encouragement had any effect or not, because Keith pointed to a point in front of them, where the roofs of a small town could be starting to be seen.  
"Look, that's Vientown! Well, I suppose our road together has ended. See you soon, everyone! Bye, Melody!"  
He waved, before starting to sprint to who-knows-where. Kate sighed, before quickly waving and sprinting forward, trying to not lose Keith. They run into the little town for a minute (an unpleasant voice yelling 'And do not run in the streets, either!' in the back of Kate's mind), before seeing a peculiar building with a canopy of leaves coming out from the roof.  
"Look, that's the Base. Let's enter."  
She nodded, the enthusiasm in Keith's voice infecting her.  
"Yes!"

* * *

"Woah. I…really didn't expect it."  
Kate didn't answer, too busy trying to recognize the road they were supposed to take to reach their destination. Keith, probably annoyed by the fact that he had not received any kind of feedback, sighed, before raising the package in his hands to his eye level and looking at it while turning it, to see it from different angles.  
"I really wonder what is in this package…"  
It was Kate turn to sigh, once she caught what her colleague was doing.  
"Keith, don't do that. The Operator told us to not shake it."  
The boy immediately lowered the package, slightly blushing.  
"Oh, right."  
Come on Keith, the Operator had been pretty adamant on that point...how could you have forgotten that already?!  
"Still…she said the Rangers were on a mission, right? Oh, I wonder what could be!"  
Kate shrugged, before taking a road slivering south into the trees.  
"Probably nothing too dangerous, since they sent us there with no recommendation other than 'don't shake the parcel'."  
Keith audibly (and with 'audibly' she meant 'very loudly') groaned.  
"Kate, you're a killjoy."  
"I know, thank you. Now, give me that packet before you reduce to mousse whatever it contains."  
With Kate safely handling the box, they proceeded in silence for a while. The trees around them soon became scarce and scarcer, permitting them to see the sea in front of them, behind a small sandy beach. Mmh...the Operator had said that they had to pass the beach (named with the very Johtonian name of Nabiki Beach) to reach Breeze Hill. Good, sound like they weren't completely and utterly lost. Kate and Keith descended the stone staircase leading to the beach, then went westward towards yet another staircase they could see in the distance.  
"Ugh, walking on sand is so annoying. Thankfully we're out of there."  
Kate nodded as they left the beach for yet another dirt path slivering into the trees. The two of them went forward, absently greeting an old man, currently busy feeding a few Pokémon, when they passed him. Kate's eyes wandered for a second on one of them, a little Starly...and found herself looking at a vivid pair of black eyes as the bird Pokémon stared back. She blinked, before forcing herself to turn her head and look forward, leaving the group behind.  
"Look at that sign: we must be near."  
Keith pointed to a wooden board, the words 'Breeze Hill' and an arrow pointing north clearly visible on it.  
"Also, Kate...that Starly couldn't stop staring at you."  
Oh, so that hadn't been just her impression. She simply shrugged, not entirely sure what that encounter could mean…or better, she wasn't in the mood to consider the implications.  
"Yeah, I noticed that, too."  
Keith wisely decided to not pursue the matter further, instead focusing on walking forward. They were climbing yet another flight of stairs when Kate noticed the figures in front of them.  
"There! I see them. Let's hurry!"  
Keith, behind her, hummed.  
"Mmh...Hey, I recognize Crawford from our Outdoor class. I think…we should introduce ourselves?"  
Sounded like a good idea to her. She nodded as Keith walked next to her, just to stop a few meters away from the group of persons on the overlook in front of them (which, by the way, offered a spectacular view on the sea below), that now she could clearly see wearing Ranger uniforms. The first to turn was a short-haired girl, being the nearest to them, followed in turn by all the others. Keith smiled, probably producing the most nervous smile Kate had ever seen, before clearing his throat.  
"He-Hellomeetcha!"  
…Aaand completely failing the second step, greet the Rangers (and one Mechanic, she realized after a second look) without making a fool of himself. A big, muscular man, with typical Oblivian traits, raised one eyebrow, before advancing towards them, a Makuhita following him.  
"…Did I just hear you say 'hellomeetcha'? You're nervous? Well, I can't blame you, this is, after all, an extremely important mission."  
He stopped, his eyes darting to the package in Kate's hands.  
"So…the parcel. I fully expect it to be safe. Hand it over, but be gentle. One careless shake and it's ka-plow."  
Kate seriously doubted that, but she decided to not say anything and instead just hand the pack as she had been told to do. The man solemnly nodded, before turning his head towards the other persons behind him.  
"Alright, people! Gather 'round, lunch is there!"  
 _What.  
_ Keith visibly stumbled, but even Kate, who had understood that the whole 'mission' business was a little sketchy, couldn't help to be surprised. _Really? Lunch?  
_ "Finally…I was _starving!_ " said the woman in the Mechanic uniform, before smiling and joining the Rangers around the Oblivian man, now busy extracting a few round shapes wrapped with tin foil from the box…probably sandwiches, Kate realized…and handing them to his companions.  
"Ahah…you should see your faces right now! Oh…do you remember me? I'm Crawford, from your Outdoor class! Though I had to cut it short…but anyway. And this is Budew, my Partner Pokémon, if you had forgotten."  
The highest Ranger, sporting an unmistakable afro, smiled at them, before handing Keith and Kate one sandwich each. Having finished distributing their lunch, the man that had greeted them nodded, before offering them a smile of his own.  
"Good work, both of you. We could say…mission complete! Anyway, I'm Barlow, the leader of Vientown's base, and this is Makuhita, my Partner."  
There was a pause, in which Barlow's eyes darted to the man to his side.  
"And before you ask, the idea of the prank was not mine. It's all Crawford's fault."  
Crawford immediately raised his hands, a (falsely) hurt expression on his face.  
"Whoa! Leader, that's not fair! You are the one that was going on about what a great idea it was…don't sell me this way!"  
Even Kate laughed after that exchange. With the air being much merrier, the brunette Ranger smiled bashfully, patting the Buneary on her shoulder with her free hand.  
"Hi…I'm Luana, and this is my Partner. Nice to meet you…and don't worry, I fell for the same prank last year! But I must admit, when I did it I shook the parcel too much, and the lunch was kinda messed up when I arrived."  
The Mechanic, at that phrase, quietly laughed, before shaking her head slowly for a second or two.  
"That's why we prepared sandwiches, this year! Oh, I'm Elaine, Vientown's Mechanic…though I suppose that was fairly evident. The Operator back in the base was Anaïs, but I guess she didn't present herself, so I'm doing that now. But…ah, don't worry if you can't remember the names."  
Barlow nodded, before turning to the two students in front of him.  
"Good, now that the presentation are complete…I think it's your turn?"  
A brief glance showed Kate that Keith was still in no condition to greet the group without horribly mangling their names, so she inwardly sighed, gathering the courage to speak.  
"Kate Lawson…and Keith Carter. Nice to meet you!"  
Strangely enough, it had been easier than usual, and definitely easier than the first time she had entered her class. Maybe it was the desire to do better than Keith, or maybe she had grown more accustomed to social situations…she really didn't know.  
"We're reporting for our 1-day internship…but that was fairly clear, I think."  
"Also…we don't have a Partner, of course, but I hope we will, one day."  
Finally Keith had managed to talk without tripping in his words…good. Barlow seemed to notice too, because his grin grew larger.  
"Starting to feel at ease now? Sorry for tricking you like that, anyway. It's become a sort of tradition, now, and we would feel bad in abandoning it like it was nothing."  
Crawford nodded, before sitting down in the grass.  
"C'mon, now that the introduction are finished…let's feast on the content of the extremely important parcel they kindly delivered!"

* * *

"MISERY! I need that report ASAP!"  
The blonde girl nodded, offering the folder she had been given by one of the scientists in the laboratory, probably full of documents she could barely understand, to the man in front of her.  
"Yes, sir, here you are! But my name isn't Misery, it's Rhythmi!"  
The old man tapped the floor with his left feet twice in frustration, before shaking his head and opening the folder.  
"Misery, Rhythmi, it's the same! Linda, what's the status?"  
A blue haired girl, currently busy giving instructions in front of a screen with the map of Almia on it, turned around briefly.  
"Everything still under control, Professor."  
The man absently nodded, probably too busy reading the documents he had been given to have a bigger reaction. Suddenly, he jolted, startling the blonde girl still in front of him.  
"What..?! Misery, run to the laboratory and ask Nage for report number 156b! Go, go!"  
"Professor, my name isn't…"  
Ah, arguing was probably pointless, she realized. She was stuck with that name, for now. Augh, but why Misery?! Who in their right mind would name someone Misery?!  
"Ah, nevermind. I'll be here soon, with report 156b, Professor!"

* * *

The day had been extremely pleasant, Kate realized stretching her arms and absent-mindendly admiring the late afternoon sky. After having lunch, the Rangers (and Elaine) had been kind enough to answer their questions, which mostly consisted in requests to hear about past missions or to talk about their everyday life. Oh, and also how they meet their Partners. Barlow had met Makuhita in a mission in Fall City, back in Fiore, while Crawford and Luana had met theirs in Nabiki beach. Apparently a legend surrounding the beach said that if you meet someone there you would form a lifetime bond with them…and, in the case of the two Rangers, that had been the truth. Partner Pokémon never leave their Ranger companion (unless asked to not follow, of course), unlike other captured Pokémon, 'till death do them part. So…well, she wasn't the superstitious type, but she supposed that legend was true.  
"Hey, Keith. I'm afraid we'll have to return soon."  
The boy grumbled, before getting up from the ground.  
"Kill. Joy."  
Kate glared at him for a second, before shrugging.  
"Sure, whatever. Now, we should…"  
She never finished the phrase, as a young man rushed into the overlook, visibly panting and shouting Barlow's name. The relaxed atmosphere was immediately shattered, as all the Rangers immediately sprung to their feet and Barlow rushed to the man.  
"What's the matter? Try to breathe and explain."  
Barlow…well, she couldn't describe it well, but…was radiating _authority_ and _experience._ No wonder he was the Leader of the base, she internally observed as she rushed towards the man with Keith.  
"I was…uff…on the beach with my girlfriend when suddenly the Pokémon started acting… _mean!_ They surrounded her and they aren't letting her go! Please, I don't want them to attack her or anyone else!"  
Barlow nodded, before turning his head towards the assembled group in front of him.  
"Very well, seems like I jinxed the afternoon when I said this is a quiet town where nothing happens. Everyone, to the beach, this is an emergency mission! Keith, Kate…you come too, but don't intervene unless I say so! Elaine, be ready to administer first aid if the worst comes to pass."  
"ROGER!" was the unanimous response, as everyone rushed on the path leading to the beach. They stopped just before the staircase connected to the beach, observing the bizarre scene of a group of Pokémon, mainly Shellos, circling around a terrified girl in a pareo. After a second glance, Kate recognized the Starly she had met before…whoa, what had happened? It had seemed like a perfectly calm Pokémon before!  
"What…are they doing?" Crawford asked, scratching the back of his head.  
"Dunno…they seem like they're dancing? At least they don't look like they want to hurt her…as long as she stays still, at least. They would probably react if she bumped into them while trying to escape." said Elaine, after looking at the scene for an instant or two.  
An old man…hey, he was the one that they had encountered before! Anyway, he moved towards Barlow, a clearly distressed expression on his face.  
"They're friendly and docile, usually! They're not like themselves!"  
Barlow looked at him for an instant, before extracting his Styler.  
"Okay people, listen up! We have to calm them down. Crawford and I will take care of the Shellos, while Luana and the students will capture the others! Be careful to not step into Shellos' slime!"  
Everyone nodded, before Barlow and Crawford darted down the staircase, initiating capture on the group of Shellos. That action seemed to trigger something in the slimy Pokémon, as they stopped circling the girl and went instead towards the two Rangers. The remaining Pokémon stayed still, a terribly blank expression in their muzzle, for a few seconds. Kate sprinted forward, determined to not let that chance escape.  
"Capture on!" she shouted, directing the Capture disk around the Starly. She noticed the girl run away to safety…which was good, because the Pokémon, once they had felt the Disk circling around it, had tried to hit the line with a basic gust attack. Trying to lead the bird as away from the girl as possible, she noticed Keith initiating capture on a Munchlax and a third Disk (Luana's, apparently) that began circling a Pachirisu. Good. She inspired, focusing entirely on the capture…and exhaling, overwhelmed with relief, as her Styler beeped happily at the end of it.  
"Capture complete!" she said, wiping away the sweat from her forehead. A pair of nearby beeps informed her that the other captures had been successful, too. She looked towards Keith, who nodded in her direction before walking towards Munchlax.  
"Okay, good job everyone!"  
Elaine, that during the ruckus had approached the terrified girl along with her boyfriend, offered a thumbs up.  
"Everyone is fine, if we don't count the huge scare."  
Kate nodded, walking towards the Starly that was looking at her with adoring eyes.  
"How's it going, people? Were your captures successful?"  
Crawford was about to answer, when Barlow glared at him.  
"I was asking the others, Crawford. I _know_ how your capture went, I was with you, and besides I'm pretty sure you were about to make an awful joke about it."  
Crawford simply shrugged and raised his hands, defeated. In the meantime, Luana scratched her head, a quite noticeable blush spreading on her cheeks.  
"Uhm…I kinda got hung a little at the start, but I managed."  
Keith nodded enthusiastically.  
"We students succeeded with our captures, too!"  
And once again he had answered for her. Damn, she hated when he did that!  
"Good work, people! The Pokémon seems to have calmed down, too. They're good to go, let's release them."  
Kate nodded and patted the head on the Starly, before gently telling it to go free.  
Nothing happened.  
She frowned, reaching for the Styler. Normally Pokémon just needed a vocal command to be released, but failing that there was a specific command on the device. She nodded, bringing up the menu and pressing the confirmation button.  
Nothing happened, again.  
"What's the matter? Someone should have taught you how to release Pokémon, by now."  
Kate violently blushed, pushing the button again in a fit of desperation.  
"It…doesn't work!"  
Silence. Kate glanced down, meeting the eyes of the Starly. What was wrong with it…? She was starting to panic when the couple walked towards Barlow, the girl still clearly upset but at least calmer than before. Crawford immediately seized the moment to move towards the pigtailed girl, motioning her to give him her Styler. She really hoped he could understand what was going on…augh. She shook her head, absently listening to the couple's words.  
"Thank you for saving her! We heard strange noises from the seas, and then we noticed a big cargo ship pull away and disappear over the horizon. Then, all of a sudden…ugh, she was surrounded by the Pokémon. Perhaps they were startled by the ship?"  
Crawford grunted, before motioning Elaine to come closer and giving her Kate's Styler. Uh oh…Kate really didn't like the whole situation. She sighed, trying to avoid both Keith's curious stare and the adoring eyes of the Starly. Wait, adoring…?  
"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad to see you folks safe. Crawford, Luana, sweep the beach, just to be on the safe side."  
"Got it!"  
The two Ranger nodded, before darting away. Barlow nodded back, before looking at Keith…and then to Kate.  
"Keith, Kate, good work. You managed well in your captures, I'll be sure to tell the school about it. Well, in the world of Rangers we call this…" Barlow smiled, before punching the air.  
"Mission clear!"  
Oh, so the punch was his Ranger pose, Kate realized. She smiled, spinning around on her feet in a small twirl…and immediately feeling self-conscious about the pose she had just made. Maybe it was…too girly? Everyone said the Ranger pose said a lot about the personality of the wielder, but it just felt so natural to her she hadn't been able to find a new one. She noticed Keith producing his, a stand-offishly backflip…ugh, his and Barlow's they were _so_ fitting, unlike hers.  
"Well, I'll be, you two already got your Ranger poses! Looked cool, too. Anyway, Elaine, found what's wrong with Kate's Styler?"  
The woman groaned, handing back the device to its owner.  
"Nothing, the Styler is perfectly fine."  
Barlow frowned for a second, before a large grin spread on his face.  
"Oh…now's clear. Well, it seems that our little Starly has taken a liking to you. Normally, I'd say 'Congratulation, you've found your Partner!', but…you aren't allowed to have one until you're officially a Ranger. Sorry, lass, but you'll have to explain it to the little fellow. Anyway…return to the base, for now. We will handle the cleaning up here, to make up for that prank earlier."

"Whoa, Kate. I can't believe what has just happened."  
Kate simply grunted, looking at the Starly still following her. Her Partner…sure, she was happy, but why in that moment?!  
"Kate, we're arrived to the base. I'll enter…try to talk to it, 'kay?"  
The boy gave her a thumbs up, before disappearing into the structure. Great, just great. Kate sighed, before kneeling down to look at Starly in the eyes.  
"Well, I…don't know where to start. I doubt you'd understand the rules of the School, or why I can't be with you until graduation…or what a graduation is."  
The bird simply tilted its head, clearly confused. Yeah, she could understand its reaction.  
"I know, I know. Listen up, though. I can't be with you right now, but I promise I will come again for you, if you want to. Just wait for me…dunno, near the beach? If you want to. If you don't want to wait…well, fly and be free, I won't force you to wait for months. Okay?"  
She really hoped she had been clear enough for the Pokémon to understand her…and her hope was confirmed when the bird chirped happily and then flew away, going south. South…the beach? Oh, she guessed he (she had observed the Starly for a while, and the plumage was unmistakable: it was male) had chosen to wait for now. Whether he would tire of waiting or not, however, she couldn't say. Oh, well. She shrugged, before getting up, dusting her knees and finally entering the base once again.

* * *

"So…the results?"  
The man sighed, before briefly adjusting the sheets of paper in front of him. He cleared his throat and finally spoke again to the screen in front of him.  
"Well. It's still a preliminary test, of course, and the conditions weren't optimal, even if…"  
His phrase was cut short by an annoyed voice.  
" _Please_ , get to the point. We already know the effect couldn't be maximized that way, now tell us what those results _are_."  
He really wished he could just shut up and let him talk, but as always his hope didn't turn into reality.  
"Umpf, always so impatient. Anyway…the effectiveness was surprisingly high, even extending for a long period of time after we deactivated the testing machine. Sadly, the intervention of a few local Rangers didn't allow us to examine the full extension of said time."  
"…Did you say Rangers?"  
It had been an heavily accented voice to answer, this time…which was a record, because the man that had just spoken tended to stay silent (maybe because his grasp of their language was still quite poor?). Ah, if more people had just followed his example…  
"Yes, but don't worry, we were extremely careful. It's entirely probable that the odd behaviour of the subjects will be linked to the noise emitted by the cargo ship…assuming that they even manged to _see_ the ship in the first place."  
There was a quick exchange of glances between the people behind the screen…apparently his explanation, despite being a perfectly logical argument, hadn't managed to quell their uneasiness.  
"We should be more careful in the future. We can't risk having Ranger poking around even before starting."  
 _Brat_. He would have loved to see _him_ do what he had just done…psha, more careful. More careful his ass, he had already been _careful_. It had been just bad luck for him to have those Rangers nearby when he had started the experiment. He forced his irritation back, as he spoke again.  
"Also, I've started the projecting phase for the advanced model we discussed earlier…though I'm afraid it won't be ready anytime soon. In the meantime I suggest everyone to focus on the operational prototype of the normal machine."  
Before anyone could speak again he smiled, before asking a seemingly innocence question.  
"Any progress on the retrieval?"  
As planned, the receiver of the question frowned, glaring daggers at him for an instant or two. _Come on, glare as much as you want, boy. That's payback for you._  
"I thought we had already established the fact that we'll need some pretty strong control device to do that. Why are you asking?" was the reply, with a dry tone that barely concealed the speaker's irritation.  
"Oh, I was just wondering whether you had found a way to resolve the problem without relying on my research." he answered, with a seraphic smile and a small shrug.  
"C'mon, boys, stop fighting. It's getting tiring to hear the same things every time."  
It was a vaguely bored feminine voice to interrupt, this time.  
"Fighting? No one is fighting here, I'm just stating facts."  
There was a loud sigh coming from the woman, which meant that she was going to reply in definitely less polite terms, when…  
"I'm inclined to side with him. I mean, fighting? Only a childish person would pick fight with his colleagues for no reason, am I right?"  
He had to admit, the brat had a sharp tongue. Before he could reply, however, a cold, authoritative voice interrupted them.  
"That's enough. Get back to the point."  
Eight words, and that was enough to make them all silent. Well, for a few seconds, anyway.  
"I had finished, anyway. Now, I have made some progress in retrieving those Fioran machines. It wasn't easy and they weren't cheap, but at least they're fully functional, so we can probably learn a lot by studying them. About the Temple, however…still nothing other than the general location. I still don't think we'll find anything major there, the International Police and the Rangers have presumably removed everything, but I'll keep trying."  
"Very well. I will remain in wait for your progress. For now…dismissed."


	6. Degrees of separation

_…_ _I can't wait for your graduation, sis! You always tried so hard to become a Ranger, and now you are about to make your dream come true! Aaah, it's sooo coooool! And to think we will be able to see you…oh, right, I forgot. We moved to Chicole Village yesterday, so we can definitely come to the School. We would have even if we were still living in Fiore, true, but this way is easier! I haven't had the time to look around much, but I think I like the place. A lot of people are transferring here, and there are lots of children my age, so I can play with them if I feel lonely! Oh, mom is calling me, I have to go. See you soon!  
Love, Sis  
_

* * *

"Aaaah, I'm so nervous!"  
Keith jumped from one feet to the other, probably trying to discharge the tension he was feeling somehow.  
"Yeah, likewise. The fact that my parents are there to watch us graduate doesn't help, either." replied Rhythmi, currently busy in the effort to put back in one of her buns a rebellious strand of hair.  
"Thank you so much for reminding me, Rhyth. Now I'm even _more_ nervous than before."  
Kate, not too far from them, hummed.  
"C'mon, it's not like we can mess it up. Unless you trip while going to shake hands with Principal Lamont, or you accidentally sneeze and…"  
"KATE!"  
She laughed, raising her hands up in the air.  
"I'm joking, c'mon. I mean, sure, everyone will look at us…but we can do it! We have faced worse things, and we will probably face even worse during our career!"  
She was truly feeling confident, that day. Sure, she was nervous too…but nothing severe, she had been in a worse shape during their last exam. Keith, at those words, grinned, before offering the two girls a thumbs up.  
"You're right, Kate! We're going to be legends, and we can't begin our path by being scared by a simple ceremony!"  
He extended his arm, palm down…and Kate remembered a similar moment, when months before they had promised themselves to realize their dreams. She grinned back, before placing her hand over Keith's, and being joined an instant later by Rhythmi.  
"This is the moment I regret not giving our group a rad name so I could use a badass catchphrase…but who cares? Guys, let's do our best, as always!"

* * *

The hallway was richly decorated, with flowers and banners reviving its usually stern wooden walls. The School really looked good…in a certain sense, Kate was glad her last memory of the place (as a student, in any case) was one so joyous and pretty. Behind her she could hear the indistinct muttering of the relatives of the graduates and the younger students that had yet to go home for their summer break, while in front of her were their teachers, dressed with their best clothes and their most solemn expression. Over the platform in front of the stairs, now being used as a stage, was the Principal, a warm and proud smile on his lips.  
"The Graduation ceremony of this year will now commence."  
Mr. Kincaid had just opened the ceremony, and everyone fell immediately silent.  
"First, our Principal's congratulatory remarks. Principal Lamont, if you please…"  
The man nodded, before looking towards the assembled students and offering them another warm smile.  
"Congratulations, graduates! I am truly delighted that I can be here to greet this day with all of you. Rangers, Operators, Mechanics…thought these paths may take you in different directions, what I hope for all of you is but the same."  
He stopped, the hint of a smirk appearing into his smile.  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to say something impossibly difficult or challenging…or launch myself in a boring, long speech. 'Please, don't forget to smile'. That is all I wish of you. With these simple words, I wish you the very best of luck in all your endeavours."  
There was a brief round of applause, before Mr. Kincaid spoke again.  
"Thank you, Principal Lamont. Now, I'd wish to call this graduating class' valedictorian…that is, our best student, Isaac Haskell."  
Talk about predictable choices…eh, made sense, anyway. The boy walked in front of the assembled students, before climbing the stairs leading to the platform-stage.  
"Thank you. Today, we leave the shelter of this place of learning and nurturing. It is a giant step for us in our pursuits of our long-held dreams."  
He wasn't that bad of an orator, Kate noticed, maybe a little on the shy side, but he was putting passion in his words and that was the most important thing.  
"To the teacher who inspired us…to Janice, who was a mother to us all…to all the Pokémon that loved us…and to all the books of the library…!"  
There was a collective snicker, but that was probably the intended effect, seeing as Isaac's smile widened after saying it.  
"…We will never forget! Thank you so very, very much from all of us!"  
Kate found herself clapping even before knowing what she was doing. Heh, she wanted to rectify what she had said before: Isaac was a pretty good orator, all things considered.  
"Thank you, Isaac, for your moving words. Next, the conferring of the graduation certificates."  
Ms. April smiled, slightly nodding.  
"I would like to call upon one student as the representative of the graduating class."  
Uh…? Nobody had told them that they needed another representative. There was a slight buzz into the graduates group…which probably meant that no one knew, either. She wondered who…  
"Miss Lawson. Step forward, please."  
 _Of course it was going to be her_. She exchanged a quick glance with Rhyth and Keith, before nodding and doing what she was told. Damn, all the bravado she had displayed in her previous exchange with her friends was now replaced by a ball of pure anxiety…she really hoped she wasn't required to talk, because otherwise she was going to make an horrendous impression. She inspired and was about to step on the platform when a booming sound, with annexed tremors, shook the entire Hall, freezing her on the spot. What the…  
"Was that an…explosion? From the basement…?" she whispered to Ms. April, now noticeably pale. The woman simply put an hand on Kate's shoulder, probably trying to calm her down, before turning towards the audience.  
"Everyone, keep calm! Please, move towards the exit, the ceremony will continue after we determine what has caused this and hopefully solved it."  
Mr. Kincaid, very visibly sweating bullets, darted on the platform, exchanging a quick glance with the Principal.  
"I…I'll go see what it was."  
Kate barely saw him descending the stairs to the basement as Ms. April started to gently push her towards the exit, finding herself forced to obey. Damn she really wished she could see what…  
" **AAAUGH!** "  
A shout pierced the air, immediately followed by an unbelievable amount of vines sprouting from the basement, quickly followed by their owners…two enormous Tangrowth, their expression perfectly in the middle between fear and rage. _Well, sounds like someone had heard her, after all_.  
She barely registered Ms. April shouting at her to run…Run? No! She had to do something! Her hand darted to her belt, extracting her Styler while she broke free of her teacher's grasp and run towards the angry Pokémon.  
"Kate! Let's capture them!"  
A voice from behind her (and different from Ms. April's shouts) made her turn her head. She immediately saw Keith, his Styler ready in his hands and a determined expression on his face. Kate nodded, feeling a surge of determination swell her chest. She should have felt anxious, so why all she could feel was confidence? Maybe it was her instinct to protect Pokémon taking over, or maybe was it Keith's presence? It didn't matter, anyway. All that mattered, in that moment, was in front of her, and she really had no room for distractions.  
"Gotcha! We can do it! You take the one on the right!"  
"Roger that! **Capture on!** "  
She ejected the Disk before being forced to jump to the right to avoid a barbed arm, that slammed instead into the floor. She managed to close a loop when the she noticed her Tangrowth extending its arms forward. _Uh oh_. She moved her arm quickly, managing to avoid the spray of poisonous spores that would have hit the capture line had she been just a little slower. Damn, she really hoped there was enough air for them to breathe freely, because otherwise they were going to be in big trouble. She jumped to her right, narrowly avoiding a second spray of venom, this time aimed to her directly. Good thing was the Pokémon's behaviour was not particularly aggressive (considering its size and troubled mood), so she could risk a little and try to close loops she wouldn't have risked to close with a more combative opponent. A misaimed spray coming from Keith's Pokémon almost hit her Disk, but hitting her Tangrowth instead. Luckily for the Pokémon poison was ineffective on it, but the attack seemed to anger it even further.  
" **Keith!** Let's finish this before they team up on us or start to attack each other!"  
" **I'm trying to!** "  
Kate gritted her teeth, preparing to jump once again to avoid another volley of spores…and had to suppress the urge to swear as she miscalculated. She was fast enough to call to her the Disk, thus making the line absorb the attack, but not fast enough to avoid damage entirely. Her Styler beeped, signalling the loss of energy, but she forced herself to stay calm: she still had a lot of charge left, she could make it. She just had to concentrate…concentrate on what was important. She inspired, guiding the Disk nearer to the Tangrowth. _I am your friend_. One loop. _I don't want to hurt you_. Avoid the spores, another loop. _Please, calm down_. Another loop.  
Capture complete.  
"Did I…?"  
The Tangrowth looked at her, its little eyes now devoid of the negative emotions she had seen before. Yes! She had made it…Kate smiled, before remembering that Keith was still next to her. She turned sharply, ready to assist him if necessary, but a beeping sound informed her that her help was no longer necessary.  
"Capture successful! We did it, Kate!" he shouted, turning towards her and grinning. Kate blinked a few times, frozen in place…and then laughed, before spinning on her feet and pointing upwards the antenna of her Styler after one turn. Damn, she would be ashamed of her Ranger pose later, now she felt _amazing_!  
"Kate! Keith!"  
The sound of footsteps behind them made her turn and she saw Rhythmi and Ms. April running towards them. Now that she thought about it, everyone had probably been forced to just watch them by the sidelines, the risk of further angering the Pokémon (and thus putting them in even greater danger) had they intervened…or, maybe, just risking to distract them in a delicate moment.  
"You two are amazing!" Rhyth shouted, running towards Kate and trapping her into a bear hug.  
"Hey, Rhyth, come on, I'm here too!" Keith said, half-jokingly. Kate just laughed and Rhyth released her, before sticking out her tongue at him.  
"Lawson! Carter! That was the most reckless move I've ever seen in many years of career, and I **don't** mean it as a compliment!"  
Ouch. Kate felt like she had been tossed into a frozen river and found herself unable to lift her gaze from her shoes. Damn, Ms. April was _terrifying_ when angered and the worst part was that Kate couldn't exactly disagree with her. Still, it was the right thing to do, so she couldn't really regret her choice.  
"Ms. April. Courage and compassion towards people and Pokémon are the cornerstones of the Ranger corps… besides, they clearly demonstrated to be skilled enough to handle the emergency. Their swift intervention assured that no one got hurt while Mr. Kaplan and the other teachers were busy evacuating the younger students and the relatives of the graduates."  
Uh…? Kate raised her head, looking with a puzzled expression Principal Lamont. He was not…chastising them? Oh, well, it's not like she was going to complain. Ms. April, on the other hand, looked like she was going to argue, but shook her head at the last moment, her expression relaxing.  
"…I suppose you're right, Principal. At least no one got hurt…"  
She stopped, shock coming back in full force in her expression.  
"…O _h no_ , we forgot about Mr. Kincaid!"

* * *

"Mr. Kincaid…you are not hurt, are you?"  
Thanks to the swift intervention of both Ms. April and Mr. Kaplan, they had managed to rescue the professor from the basement. Thankfully, the only major effect of the accident seemed to be the huge amount of twigs he had into his clothes and hair.  
"I…I think…Yes, yes, I'm fine. I must admit, even I couldn't tell what on earth was happening…"  
The answer was 'you were trampled by two angry Pokémon'…unless he was talking about the way those Pokémon managed to enter the basement. Or what had caused the explosion they had heard before their appearance.  
"Ah…so even you are at a loss as to why those Tangrowth rampaged…That's a shame."  
Was that suspicion she had detected in the Principal's voice? Nah, she was just imaging things.  
"Still, everyone is safe. That certainly is a great relief. Well, shall we continue with our graduation ceremony?"  
At those words Mr. Kincaid, currently in front of the stage (and of Principal Lamont) hastily nodded, returning to his place next to Mrs. Claire. Ms. April exchanged a quick glance with the Principal, before speaking again.  
"…As I said before, I'd like to call upon one student as a representative of the graduating class."  
Kate wondered briefly who she would choose, considering her and Keith's earlier stunt. Maybe she would end calling Rhythmi instead? Or maybe…  
"Kate Lawson. Please, step forward."  
…Uh? She had _still_ called her? She was definitely surprised, but she still stepped forward, climbing the steps to reach Principal Lamont.  
"Kate Lawson, Keith Carter. Thank you for coming to the protection of everyone. It was very impressive to see you calmly go about with your captures with no panic. You've provided everyone with a good example of taking charge in a crisis."  
He was praising them in front of everyone…wow. Once again, she found herself asking why she wasn't being punished for her move…and, this time, she understood. They were no longer students, they were now adults, adults that were about to officially become Rangers…and they had indeed acted like a true Ranger would do. _That_ 's why she had been called on stage.  
"Now, as the representative of this graduating class, I confer you this certificate."  
He handed her a certificate (probably a copy that they would have given later to everyone), his eyes twinkling with happiness, pride and maybe even a hint of commotion.  
"And finally…The time has come for all of you to set sail into the vast horizon that is your future. In closing, I will say that once again: 'Please, don't forget to smile'. Congratulations, grads!"  
She smiled, then moved back towards the other students, briefly hearing the sound of the ringing bell before it was drowned in a collective applause.

* * *

Kate yawned, pushing away from her the sheets of her bed and sitting upright on the ledge of the bed.  
"Oh, you're already awake. 'Morning, Kate."  
Rhyth, currently busy putting on her socks, smiled at her. Kate's parents, after hearing that she was from Johto and had no place to sleep until she was dispatched for her work as an Operator, had offered her to stay at home with them, considering that Kate's bedroom had an extra bed. Keith, whose family was from Riverend (a small town just south of Hia Valley), had thankfully a sister living in Pueltown, so he could meet them as soon as they received their letters from the Union (which was a matter of days, now).  
"Hey, Rhyth." Kate said, suppressing another yawn. She was about to ask the other girl how the night had been, when she heard two distinct knocks on the door of the bedroom.  
"Come in!"  
A little girl with pigtails entered the room, proceeding then to run towards her sister and glomp her.  
"Sis! Rhythmi! Good morning!"  
Kate, still half asleep, almost fell backwards but managed to regain her balance at the last second. She chuckled before ruffling her little sister's head.  
"Hey, little Skitty, how can you be so hyperactive this early?"  
The girl grinned, getting away from her sister and going again towards the door.  
"You should be too! Keith's here, and he has a letter from the Union! Yours must be in the mailbox, too!"  
Kate exchanged a look with Rhythmi, before getting up from the bed and going towards her clothes, placed on a nearby chair.  
"Can you tell him that we're going down soon?"  
Her sister nodded, before closing the door and going downstairs, judging from the sound of her steps.  
"Kate, your sister is so cute it's illegal."  
"I know, right? I've lost the count of the arguments she charmed me into losing. Come on, let's get ready."  
Fifteen minutes later and they were going downstairs, the smell of freshly baked goods coming from the kitchen. Kate's mother and sister were sitting at the room's table, chatting with a red-haired boy in front of a generous breakfast.  
"Hello, Keith. Leave something to eat for us too!"  
The boy turned his head towards them before grinning and waving into the air an envelope.  
"'Sup, ladies! Today's the day!"  
Kate's mother smiled, before pointing to two similar letters on the counter.  
"Good morning, girls. These arrived in today's mail for you."  
Rhyth smiled, bowing slightly (Johtonian politeness, Kate assumed).  
"Thank you, Mrs. Lawson!"  
The woman simply smiled, waving an hand in the air.  
"Oh, please, you know you don't have to be so formal, Rhythmi, you can call me just Jacklyn. Now, I'm going to the field, if you need anything I'll be there. Please, eat as much as you want. See you later!"  
She ruffled Kate's hair as she went to sit on the table after grabbing the envelopes, before waving and exiting from the door, soon followed by the pig-tailed little girl.  
"I'll go watch the cartoons with Hannah and Paul! See you later, Sis! Bye Keith, bye Rhythmi!"  
There was a few moments of silence before Kate spoke again, handing Rhythmi the letter with her name.  
"So…shall we?"  
Everyone nodded, getting a hold of the nearest knives and opening their letters. Kate quickly skimmed the letter, trying to get to the point where…  
"I…I've been assigned to Vientown's base!"  
She grinned, lifting her head to look at her friends. Vientown was such a lucky place to be assigned! She and Keith already knew the Ranger there and, to booth, it was near to her family. Her smile vanished when she saw Keith's expression change from an enthusiast one to a much sombre one.  
"I've…been assigned to Fiore. Wintown."  
She turned her head towards the blonde girl, but she simply shook her head.  
"Fall City."  
"Oh…I…really hoped we would get assigned together."  
Rhyth sighed.  
"Yeah, me too…And to think we even declined the option of being assigned _after_ this summer! We could have gone on a trip together…maybe I could have shown you Johto, or maybe we could have chosen Oblivia instead…"  
She was beginning to trail off, which prompted Keith to put an hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly.  
"We knew the risks, Rhythmi. It's fine…we will keep in contact with each other, okay?"  
"Of course we will!" Kate immediately added, putting an hand on the girl's other shoulder. They stayed silent for a few moments, before Rhyth sighed yet again, noticeably calmer.  
"So…when you will have to depart?" Kate asked, hoping to not have made a colossal faux-pas.  
"Let me see…oh."  
 _Oh no_.  
"It's quite soon, I gather."  
Rhyth nodded, pointing to a line written on the letter in front of her.  
"Yes…I'll have to take the boat the day after tomorrow, since I let the Union know that I had already packed and I was ready for the journey. How about you, Keith?"  
He shrugged before reaching for his letter. He skimmed it for a few moments, before sighing.  
"Same day, same motivation."  
Kate, who had just finished to read hers, cleared her throat.  
"Then can…can I accompany you to Pueltown? Boats from Fiore departs from there."  
Keith blinked a few times, a confused expression on his face.  
"Uh…but…when are you supposed to start?"  
"The same day you are supposed to take your boat. I suppose your departure is in the morning, right?"  
Rhythmi and Keith simply nodded, which prompted Kate to continue speaking.  
"Then me and Rhyth depart from here quite early, we meet up with you in Pueltown, and I get the bus back for Vientown. I probably won't be able to see you leave, but…"  
Rhyth shook her head.  
"You don't have to do that, Kate. It's not your fault for being needed somewhere else…"  
"Admit it, Rhyth, you are saying that just because you loathe the idea of getting up so soon!" Keith joked, probably in an effort to lift the mood.  
"Ah-ah, Keith. So funny. But no, I don't mind it in this occasion, it's just that…"  
It was Kate's turn to shake her head.  
"It's the same for me. I don't mind at all."  
Before Rhyth could answer again, Keith vigorously nodded.  
"Okay then, it's decided. We can meet in front of my sister's apartment…it's near the bus stop."  
The blonde girl gently elbowed him on the arm, a sneaky grin on her face.  
"…and you currently sleep there, so you don't have to wake up too early to reach it."  
Keith winked, before raising his hands in defeat.  
"Guilty as charged."  
Kate laughed, but inside she was feeling quite lousy. She had never been so close with someone that wasn't her family, even if she still wanted to strangle Keith every now and then. To be separated so soon…no, she had to stop thinking that way. They would meet again in the future, and in the meantime they would keep in contact through letters or e-mails. It was not that bad, really.  
"Okay, we'll do that. Now…I think celebrations are in order, don't you? I'm starving." she said, grabbing a croissant from a plate in front of her and winking. Sadness could wait, she decided, possibly forever: right now she just wanted to have fun with her friends.

* * *

 _ _"_ So, when I'm older I will sooo become a Coordinator! In fact, mother has already signed me for the junior tournament!"  
Rhyth tried her best to ignore the voices of her classmates, following the phrase she was reading…to no use, unfortunately. She was so used to listening to everything that happened around her that she wasn't able to stop doing that, even if she wanted to…besides, they were just in front of her, it was hard not paying attention.  
"No way! Are you going with Moumou, aren't you?!"  
"Yes! She's going to steal so many hearts in the Cute category, but…"  
The girl stopped, sighing quite dramatically.  
"…is something the matter?"  
"…I still don't know whether I should teach her some other move other than the ones she already knows or not. Hey, Rhythmi, what do you think? Should I buy that attract TM?"  
She immediately lifted her head when she heard her name (perks of having a really uncommon first name, she supposed), but one of the girls in the group answered before she could say anything.  
"Come on, Anne, you know she isn't interested in that kind of thing."  
The first girl shrugged, a little taken aback by the comment.  
"…Yeah, but…"  
How ironic. Normally, the destiny of kids that, for some reason or another, couldn't fit in was to blend in the background if they were lucky…or being bullied mercilessly if they weren't. Her, however? Saying that she didn't fit in that place was an understatement, and yet she was probably considered one of the popular guys (well, girls), if nothing by proxy. She was too damn good with people to let herself be pushed in a corner, but her constant, polite struggles always left a bitter taste in her mouth. Like that time she had argued that Pokémon battling could_ _have the potential to_ _be_ _immoral…only to be answered that sometimes she acted strange. Actually, the exact words had been "You're so cute, but sometimes you are really weird." Jerk.  
"Well…she's not exactly wrong, you know. I really can't advise you…sorry." she said, offering a warm, absolutely fake smile. The other girl smiled back, waving an hand in the air.  
"Oh, no, it's okay! I should have known better."  
There was no malice in those words, but Rhyth couldn't help but add a sarcastic remark in her head. She briefly shook her head, before returning her gaze to the book she was reading. Lunch break was going to end soon, and she really wanted to finish the chapter before that time. She had just found the point she had left before when she felt two light taps on her shoulder. She lifted her head, just to see a short girl with giant pigtails grinning at her. That was Heather, and Rhyth considered her the closest of her friends. Mmmh, she wondered what she was plotting this time…  
"Hey, Rhyth, are you free this afternoon? I've heard there's a super cute new café opening in the Bell Tower area…and the waiters are all pretty boys!"  
Rhyth smiled back, the idea of a nice afternoon (with a nice view) definitely appealing.  
"Pretty boys?! Count me…oh."  
…Before she remembered her plans for the afternoon…and the fact that no amount of handsome waiters could be worth what she was about to do.  
"…I don't like that face."  
She sighed, forcing an apologetic smile on her face.  
"Oh…I…sorry, I forgot I wanted to review all the materials for tomorrow's exam."  
"…You mean the exam for that Ranger School of yours?"  
"Yes, and the exam is, like, super difficult." she said, nodding.  
"I…I'll be honest, I don't really get you, there are so many opportunities here in Johto!"  
And of course, not even Heather understood her, or even made an effort to do so. Oh, Rhythmi had tried, really, but she could have talked to a wall for all the results. Well, let's face it, if she had announced she wanted to go study abroad to become a Pokémon Trainer (which wasn't a thing, because there weren't schools for that) everyone would have cooed and showered her with compliments, but becoming an Operator? She was weird…and wait, what's an Operator anyway? She briefly clenched her fists, once again being reminded _why _she wanted to get away that bad, but being careful to not let her inner irritation show too much on her face.  
"But…it's your dream, right? I wish you good luck, Rhythmi."  
…And the worst part was, no one was acting with ill intent. They simply didn't realize how their words and acts often bruised her feelings (and her ego).  
"Thank you. I'll come to that café another day, okay?" she said, closing her book as the sound of a bell filled the classroom. Somehow, she doubted she would be able to focus on the incoming lesson, but at least it would be a respite from all the rest._


End file.
